Linchpin_ Are You Indispensable_ - Seth Godin [33]
platform, and she uses it to make a tiny difference in every customer's day.
The Stop & Shop has to accept part of the blame for Steve's situation. First, they don't do
anything at all to reward people who are generous. I've never seen a manager there go out
of his way to respect or acknowledge great behavior. Melinda is going to leave soon, and
good for her.
The really telling clue about the situation? Near the exit is a terminal where entry-level
workers can apply for a job without engaging with a human being. Type in your data and
you're hired. It communicates really clearly: "You're a cog, you're replaceable, there's
someone coming in right behind you. Hey, we don't even have to meet you!"
When you offer the job of last resort, often people respond in kind.
The sad part for me is that while Steve is busy teaching the store a lesson, he's teaching
himself that this is the way to do his job. He's fully expecting that his next job, or the job
after that or the job after that--that's when he'll become the linchpin. If he waits for a job
to be good enough to deserve his best shot, it's unlikely that he'll ever have that job.
What's in It for Me
Author Richard Florida polled twenty thousand creative professionals and gave them a
choice of thirty-eight factors that motivated them to do their best at work.
The top ten, ranked in order:
1. Challenge and responsibility
2. Flexibility
3. A stable work environment
4. Money
5. Professional development
6. Peer recognition
7. Stimulating colleagues and bosses
8. Exciting job content
9. Organizational culture
10. Location and community
Only one of these is a clearly extrinsic motivator (#4, money). The rest are either things
we do for ourselves or things that we value because of who we are.
The interesting thing about money is that there's no easy way for an employee to make it
increase, at least not in the short run. Most of the other elements, though, can go through
the roof as a result of our behavior, contributions, attitude, and gifts.
And yet, cynical management acts like a factory, figuring that the only motivators are
cash and freedom from scolding.
Remarkable People Deserve Remarkable Jobs
If the mantra of the last era was "average jobs for average people, and average people for
average jobs," then it's no surprise that most of the jobs out there seemed average, and
that if you wanted to maximize your chances of getting one, fitting in was your best
strategy.
Often, when people hear about my radical ideas for how you should train for a career, as
well as the best way to present yourself, they object. They point out that not fitting in is
certainly going to be an ineffective way of getting one of these average jobs. They remind
me that not having a resume is all fine and good, but how will that help them get a job at
a place that requires a resume?
You can't win both games--not at the same time, anyway.
If you want a job where you are treated as indispensable, given massive amounts of
responsibility and freedom, expected to expend emotional labor, and rewarded for being a
human, not a cog in a machine, then please don't work hard to fit into the square-peg job
you found on Craigslist.
If you need to conceal your true nature to get in the door, understand that you'll probably
have to conceal your true nature to keep that job. This is the one and only decision you
get to make. You get to choose. You can work for a company that wants indispensable
people, or you can work for a company that works to avoid them.
Groucho Marx famously said, "I don't care to belong to any club that would have me as a
member."
The linchpin says, "I don't want a job that a non-linchpin could get."
IS IT POSSIBLE TO DO HARD WORK IN A CUBICLE?
Labor Means Difficult
Apparently, we don't have a lot of trouble understanding that work might involve
physical labor, heavy lifting, or long periods of fatigue. But, for some reason, we hesitate
to invest