Seth Godin’s recent blog, “Rigor vs Rigid” draws a distinction between two words that share the same Latin root. They began as Latin terms for stiff and unyielding, but Godin says they “sound the same but work in opposite directions.” In short, they’ve diverged: A rigid approach in life and work is easy to describe, […]
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When Tradeoffs Become Trade-ups
In one of his recent blogs, Seth Godin wrote about the interesting dynamics of tradeoffs, for instance, making a laptop more powerful will probably affect battery life and its weight. So, trade-offs can be a sort of magic if done right —or a double-edged sword, good for some, not so good for others. I submit that […]
Secession as a Negotiation Tactic Will Only Go So Far
In a recent Seth Godin blog, Secession vs. Commitment, he talks about the negotiation tactic of leaving: it is powerful because “when the customer/partner/citizen could bolt at any moment, we act differently.” It may be powerful, but it is a short-term tactic. A better dynamic is commitment, because it is a “creation tactic.” When parties […]
You May Think You Know What You’re Doing…
Seth Godin’s recent blog on “Rationalizing your project” really struck a chord with me. Godin talks about how companies and individuals fail to follow advice because, “In the face of helpful advice, it’s easy to say, ‘sure, that’s what I’m already doing,’” or justify altering the advice to make things easier for them. He gives an excellent […]
Drop that Grudge
There’s nothing positive about holding a grudge, especially in the business world because grudges produce negative feelings and results. Seth Godin, in a recent post, rightly put it this way: Whatever is causing the grudge, he continues, whether it is competition, technology or what someone said or did years ago, “none of it is going […]
Don’t Buy It If It Doesn’t Fit
A recent blog from marketing guru Seth Godin talks about that beautiful pair of shoes—and on sale at a great price!—only there’s one catch: they are one size too small. There’s a decision to be made: should you opt for the good looking bargain and go with sore feet until maybe the shoes stretch out? […]
What Game are You Playing?
Marketing guru Seth Godin has a short blog, “The short game, the long game and the infinite game” in which he asks, “How long is your long run?” He continues that a short game is when people or organizations see the lens through a short ROI and “measure the world in ten second flashes, and […]
To Start 2014, Pick Three People and Three Books
As I thought about what to write about in my first blog of 2014 I kept coming back to something that the insightful Seth Godin wrote about last month. In a December 20th post, he suggested that if there is “one thing you could do that would transform how 2014 goes for you,” it would […]
Put the Bias on Trust
Seth Godin, who as you know by now is one of my favorite “go-to” writers and bloggers, talks about having a “bias for trust” based on two truths. This first is that we shouldn’t “waste time” initiating relationships “that are not going to thrive and benefit both sides,” he says. Exactly! You don’t get to […]
Shoot for Trust, Not Trustiness!
A recent post from one of my favorite writers and bloggers, Seth Godin, talks about “trustiness,” or the idea that simply sounding like you or your company has a commitment to trust is just as good as actually instilling a true ecosystem of trust. It’s a bow to Stephen Colbert’s famous take on “truthiness,” or […]