Linchpin_ Are You Indispensable_ - Seth Godin [15]
Or, just maybe, would you be more successful if you were more artistic, motivated,
aware, and genuine?
That's the choice. Your choice.
Secret Memo for Employees
Given the chance, you should choose to be indispensable.
After all, if you're the linchpin, the company has to treat you better. Pay you fairly. You
won't be the first to be shown the door in a slow period; in fact, you'll be the last.
Not only do you have security, but you also have confidence. The confidence to make a
difference in your organization and to do work that matters.
If you can be human at work (not a machine), you'll discover a passion for work you
didn't know you had. When work becomes personal, your customers and coworkers are
more connected and happier. And that creates even more value.
When you're not a cog in a machine, an easily replaceable commodity, you'll get paid
what you're worth. Which is more.
Secret Memo for Employers
You want your employees to be indispensable.
Really? After all, if they're the linchpins, you have to treat them better. Pay them fairly.
You won't be able to quickly fire them for any reason, knowing how easy they will be to
replace with all those folks lining up at the door. The linchpin represents a threat to the
orderly execution of your agenda, because the linchpin is necessary. The linchpin has
power!
No one is irreplaceable, of course, because over time someone can be trained to fill the
shoes of your linchpin employee. But right now, knowing you have to depend on
someone is a scary feeling. Not only does he have power, but he might leave you
hanging. This isn't what you were taught in school.
Here's the win (actually, there are two):
First, understand that your competition has been building a faceless machine exactly like
yours. And when customers have the choice between faceless options, they pick the
cheapest, fastest, more direct option. If you want customers to flock to you, it's tempting
to race to the bottom of the price chart. There's not a lot of room for profit there, though.
You can't out-Amazon Amazon, can you?
In a world that relentlessly races to the bottom, you lose if you also race to the bottom.
The only way to win is to race to the top.
When your organization becomes more human, more remarkable, faster on its feet, and
more likely to connect directly with customers, it becomes indispensable. The very thing
that made your employee a linchpin makes YOU a linchpin. An organization of
indispensable people doing important work is remarkable, profitable, and indispensable
in and of itself.
Second, the people who work for you, the ones you freed to be artists, will rise to a level
you can't even imagine. When people realize that they are not a cog in a machine, an
easily replaceable commodity, they take the challenge and grow. They produce more than
you pay them to, because you are paying them with something worth more than money.
They do more than they're paid to, on their own, because they value quality for its own
sake, and they want to do good work. They need to do good work. Anything less feels
intellectually dishonest, and like a waste of time. In exchange, you're giving them
freedom, responsibility, and respect, which are priceless.
As a result of these priceless gifts, expect that the linchpins on your staff won't abuse
their power. In fact, they'll work harder, stay longer, and produce more than you pay
them to. Because everyone is a person, and people crave connection and respect.
This Is No Time for Dumb Tools
The architecture of our systems is set up so that the people at the top know more. The
goal is to hire as many cheap but talented people as possible, give them a rule book, and
have them follow instructions to the letter.
Go to a McDonald's. Order a Big Mac. Order a chocolate milkshake.
Drink half the milkshake.
Eat half the Big Mac.
Put the Big Mac into your milkshake and walk up to the counter.
Say, "I can't drink this milkshake . . . there's a Big Mac in it."
The person at the