Linchpin_ Are You Indispensable_ - Seth Godin [73]
check is directly related to the amount he thinks was spent on the catering. A steak dinner
earns you a bigger wedding check. Sigh.
Or consider the family that exchanges cash at Christmas. If everyone is giving and
getting the same amount, there's not much happening, is there?
The gift of art instantly creates a bond between the artist and the recipient. A priceless
gift has been given, one that can never be valued monetarily or paid for or reciprocated.
The benefit to the artist is the knowledge that you changed in some way, not that you will
repay him. And so your only possible response is to make the tribe stronger.
When I treat you with respect or spend the time to try to change your mind, I am
embracing you in the best way I can. If I touch you in any way, you then have two
obligations: to make us closer, and to pass it on, to give a gift to another member of the
tribe. Gifts don't demand immediate payment, but they have always included social
demands within the tribe.
The Selfish By-product
Some people are gift givers by nature. They love their tribe, or they respect their art, and
so they give. Not for an ulterior motive, but because it gives them joy.
Other people might need to consider the economic benefits first. These are people who
were brainwashed by the last five hundred years of history, people who want to know
what's in it for them, people who believe there ain't no such thing as a free lunch and
every man for himself. These people have no art in their life because they're unable to
give a true gift. They want something in return. They want security or cash or both.
The hardheaded selfish capitalists among us will enjoy the next sentence:
Artists are indispensable linchpins.
Art is scarce; scarcity creates value. Gifts make tribes stronger. Organizations will always
strive to replace replaceable elements with cheaper substitutes. But generous artists aren't
easily replaceable.
So artists are different.
If you give a gift, I hope you will do it because you respect your muse and embrace your
art. But, right now anyway, I'll settle for your simulating this behavior simply because
you want to be the linchpin, the center of the tribe, the source of our inspiration, and the
one we all count on to make a difference.
Some people think that you can't be generous until after you become a success. They
argue that they have to get theirs, and then they can go ahead and give back. The
astonishing fact is that the most successful people in the world are those who don't do it
for the money.
Old-school businesspeople argue for copyright and patent protection and say, "I can't tell
you my idea because I'm afraid you will steal it." Old-school thinking is that you get paid
first, you sign a contract, you protect and defend and profit. They say, "Pay me."
Artists say, "Here."
Three Ways People Think About Gifts
1. Give me a gift!
2. Here's a gift; now you owe me, big-time.
3. Here's a gift, I love you.
The first two are capitalist misunderstandings of what it means to give or receive a gift.
The third is the only valid alternative on the list.
Sunny Bates and Metcalfe's Law
Bob Metcalfe invented the technology that allows computers to be wired up in a network.
The Ethernet, as he called it, made him rich. He also coined Metcalfe's law, which made
him famous.
Metcalfe's law says that the value of a network increases with the square of the number of
nodes on the network. In English? It says that the more people who have a fax machine,
the more fax machines are worth (one person with a fax is useless). The more people who
use the Internet, the better it works. The more friends I have who use Twitter, the more
the tool is worth to me. Connections are valuable in and of themselves, because they lead
to productivity, decreased communication costs, and yes, gifts.
Sunny Bates is a human Ethernet. Sunny ran a very successful executive recruiting firm,
sold it, and now creates value by helping clients connect to relevant communities.