Tag: Linchpin

The Problem With Complaining

Achieving Goals, Happiness, Health, Success

There is often a sense in today’s culture that suggests that we should complain because we might get something out of it. The goal being to get something not to have an issue fixed. There are also times when we have a legitimate complaint, where something has gone wrong. I’m not talking about either of these types of complaints in this post.

What I am talking about is moaning about day to day things that we are unhappy about. In conversation with a colleague I complained about the time I would have to get up in order to catch the train to a training event in another city. Rather than the socially accepted response of validating my moaning, they said, “Well you did volunteer for the training.”

The point is that most things that we complain/moan about are things we have signed up for but we still want sympathy for the effort we have to put in. If you want to be productive, effective or in demand you have to change your mindset and quit the moaning. If you just get on with it life will be better for you. You will be happier and you will become someone others go to in order to get things done. A simple change in habit will have a big impact.

Redefining Art

Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

When we think of Art, we usually think of Monet, Van Gogh or some other famous painter or sculpture. We think of the things we see in art galleries, but those in Tate Modern, what is called Modern Art, is sometimes debated about regarding whether they are in fact Art.

I have an Art background and I have struggled with agreeing that some Modern Art pieces or installations are Art. The room with lights turning off and on that won the Turner Prize some years ago comes to mind.

The definition of Art given by Seth Godin in his book Linchpin is “Art is a gift that changes the recipient.” I like this definition, because it does not limit Art to particular skills or materials. He goes on to give the elements that are needed for something to be Art.

He says “Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.” “By definition, Art is human… …because intent matters.” “Art is original.” “The last element that makes it art is that it’s a gift.” He also points out that “…it’s art when a great customer service person uses a conversation to convert an angry person into a raving fan.”

This definition of Art broadens it out to allow all of us to be Artists. A cook is not an Artist, but a Chef is. You too can be an Artist, so be courageous and give with the skills you have to make a difference and change someone for the better. This is a giving time of year, at Christmas, but make this a day habit and you will have a big positive impact on the world.

How To Be Number 1

Achieving Goals, Leadership, Success

The idea of being number 1 is based on finite thinking. Companies all the time state they are number 1, but this is always based on their own criteria. Often it had has also been part of a winner takes all system that puts colleagues against each other for the fight to earn the most money. Both of these ways of thinking are destructive.

We are also transitioning from the industrial age where factories were king and we are entering the communication age where anyone can start a business with a laptop and a WIFI connection.

This new disruptive way of working is making the old way of working more scarce, where we are paid to do what we are told. This is because companies are in a race to do things cheaper and many jobs have been automated. You can spend decades working for a company only to be made redundant because technology or someone in another country can do your job cheaper.

As bleak as this seems, it provides a tremendous opportunity to become indispensable. Rather than trying to be number 1 in a particular category, invent your own category, a category of 1. Being the best at being you will mean you become a Linchpin, as Seth Godin calls it; someone who is indispensable. So go take on the challenges that those who would rather follow orders won’t tackle.

Go solve interesting problems and go and lead. This is how you gain job security in a cheaper is better business world, because there are companies that understand that human is better, not cheaper.

The Art Of Interaction

Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

We don’t often think of how we interact as something to work on or improve. We learn how to communicate with each other during our childhood years and that’s that. However, if we are to make a real difference in the world then we need to master how we interact with each other.

I first came across the concept of the ‘art of interaction’ in Seth Godin’s book Linchpin, where he describes every interaction with a colleague or customer as practicing the art of interaction. It is an integral part of becoming a linchpin within your organisation, someone who is indispensable.

It is also good to practice how to interact with others on a general basis in order to develop good relationships and to uplift others. Treating it as an ‘art’ also means that how you interact with others can be unique to you. It is an art not a science. It is also one of the strings to your bow that are needed in order to have self mastery.