Linchpin_ Are You Indispensable_ - Seth Godin [82]
the system we work in, the companies we invest in, the people we work with. That
attachment, and our response to it, forces us to wish for a different outcome than we
might honestly expect.
The executives in the record business, for example, loved their perfect business model.
They were attached to their lifestyles and to the way their artist and fan relationships
made them feel. When even a turnip could see that their business model was doomed,
they soldiered on, apparently oblivious to the crumbling going on around them. Were
they stupid? No. They were blinded by their attachment to the present and their fear of
the future.
Bob Lefsetz, the iconic critic of the industry, was the outsider who could actually see the
future. On a regular basis, he told the thousands of executives who subscribed to his
newsletter exactly what was happening and why it was happening. More than five years
ago, he was (loudly) calling for the music industry to wake up or die. Bob's art is his
ability with words, his willingness to see the truth and reflect it to people who might not
want to hear it.
Executives disappeared, but Bob remained indispensable. Because he was the only truthteller in the room, many influential players in the industry quickly realized that they
would have trouble living without him, even if they didn't like the future he was so
accurately describing. So Bob makes his living speaking truth to power.
Untangling the Truth
Successful people are able to see the threads of the past and the threads of the future and
untangle them into something manageable.
The tangling is a natural state. Personalities, sunk costs, and complex systems conspire to
weave the elements of our work into a matted mess. Things are the way they are, and it's
difficult to perceive that they could be any other way.
The newspaper industry can't untangle news from paper, can't see the difference between
delivering the news around the world for free and putting it on a truck for shipment down
the block. As long as each of these elements is seen as inseparable from the others, it's
impossible to untangle the future. That's why outsiders and insurgents so often invent the
next big thing--they don't start with the tangled past.
The truth behind your customer's situation is no different. Your organization may have a
history with this customer; you may have a visceral memory of something that happened
between or with your organization and the customer. Keep these ideas tangled and there's
no way you'll be flexible enough to partner with this customer for the future. You'll be
too busy defending the past.
Tell the Truth
First, of course, you have to be able to see the truth. This takes experience and expertise
and, most of all, a willingness to look.
Most people who see the truth refuse to acknowledge it. We can notice an unhappy
customer, a shoddy product, or a decaying industry, but we don't want to be aware of it.
Our attachment is to a different future, so we ignore the data or diminish its importance.
We don't mean to lie; we're in denial.
The few who can see the truth and become aware of it often hesitate to speak up. You
don't want to upset the status quo. You fear the wrath of your peers when they hear you
say that the emperor is actually naked. You hesitate because you've been taught that this
is not the work of a team player; it's the work of a rabble-rouser.
Smart organizations seek out people with the ability to see the world as it actually is. But
that skill is worthless if you don't acknowledge the truth and share it.
Think of the travel agents you know who denied that the industry was in trouble until it
disappeared. Or the sales rep with a fading account who stuck it out because momentum
was more important than acknowledging the truth. It's human nature to defend our
worldview, to construct a narrative that protects us from uncomfortable confessions.
Attachment to Things We Can't Control
At this moment, your boss is meeting with