Explore!

The Linchpin Way

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement!
Join The Linchpin Way Community.

This is not another Linchpin book review.

I’ve written about Seth before. A full post dedicated to the amazing Box Set launch. I also included Seth in a post discussing how leaders learn and I tweet about Seth and recommend his books. Seth Godin does good things.

With so many reviews like these, there is little room for another unique book review of Linchpin by Seth Godin. These reviews are outstanding, truly useful, and as you can see, they cover a lot of ground and some were even limited to 140 characters and pdf’d. From what I can tell, two of those links above will lead you to more than 200 articles about Seth and the book and the number of links grows every day. Many of those articles are by amazing authors and bloggers and include both video and written interviews with Seth himself.

As I said, this is not another one of those reviews.

This article, The Linchpin Way, is for the growing base of people who have already read Linchpin. This is for Linchpin readers and Linchpin leaders. People like me, you and them.

1 of 4 "cube grenades" by Hugh MacLeod

Now is the time to act, unite, and engage. Viva La Linchpin!

Act on your Linchpin mindset with this Linchpin Poll

You know the Linchpin questions and you know the answers – don’t you? Now, ask them yourself in the worlds first user contributed Linchpin poll. You can answer the questions I and others asked. You can also create your own questions to include in the poll for others to answer – yep, you can modify the poll to include your questions too and see what others say.

You are the Linchpin. The simple act of reading these Linchpin Poll questions, acting on them with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ will move you closer to complete ownership of the Linchpin mindset and The Linchpin Way.

(start answering or select the blue ‘ask’ tab and add your own questions)

Are you a Linchpin?

Share the poll with others by retweeting this blog post. Or follow @LinchpinPoll on twitter and help others find it. Even easier, here is a retweetable message, just click and it will open in a new window Are You a Linchpin? I just took the Linchpin Poll at http://bit.ly/ctl5SU

Put this poll on your site, inside your blog post or on your Linchpin book review page. The Linchpin Poll is a great way to introduce people to Linchpin and confirm their Linchpin mindset. Plus it’s just too easy to use and neat. The embed code is here in this txt file just copy and paste whats in the file and it should work.

“Linchpin” means something.

Linchpin, like Idea Virus and Purple Cow gives us a term, a single word that means something that was previously amorphous and without definition. This is one of Seth’s superpowers; to create a definition, a new term for abstract ideas and previously unrelated concepts.

So, you’re a Linchpin. Now what?

Unite Linchpin’s by going to the edges.

Right now, all the cool kids are talking about Seth, the book and how wonderful it is. This is great and necessary. This keeps the book in the media, in the blogs and on the best-sellers lists. This is all good for us and even the world at large. There is no denying the power of a Linchpin. But beyond pushing the book into the hands of the people we love, what else can we do?

The Linchpin Manifesto available for download on Seth’s site is a nice pdf to print and hang on your wall or email a friend or link to from a blog post, but it is not enough.

The Linchpin 2.0 Vision Statement:

We must move Linchpin from a book of ideas into a way of life fully supported by community, fellowship, identity, and purpose. Linchpins should be identified, connected, cultivated and networked. There is no excuse to slow the growth of the Linchpin movement or The Linchpin Way. Linchpin is now an expression, a lifestyle, a way to act, a way to change things and a way to demonstrate our art.

The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto:

(download the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto here).

Where Woodstock united a generation and marked an era, Linchstock will unite a population of artists, creators, doers and those who are indispensable. We have the book, the definition, now we need the place. We must create Linchstock to celebrate our Linchpin way of life. Would you meet me at Linchstock?

Just like Boy Scouts, Diabetics, Authors, Millionaires and Celebrities are in their own club, Linchpins now represent a defined Tribe – a special and remarkable group of change-makers, artists and givers. Now you can relate instantly just by saying you are a Linchpin or desire to be a Linchpin. Us “Linchpiner’s” would meet up at in special gatherings at industry conferences and in mobs at events like Linchstock.

Every great cause has a flag to fly. Every great organization has a logo to unify. We must agree and own the Linchpin Badge and spread it. Do we agree the hand gripping the lightening bolt is the badge? If not it must be created intentionally to be shared with no royalties, rights, or disclaimers. If the hand and lightning bolt is the badge, let it go and spread. Linchpiner’s at Linchstock would be proud to wear their Linchpin Badge.

Become a beacon of light that attracts people. Influence, educate and change these people through your Linchpin mindset. You must demonstrate The Linchpin Way. Every Linchpin has the authority to share The Linchpin Way and help others become Linchpins. Linchstock could be the place to fine tune and expand The Linchpin Way.

With your gift, your tools, your art and your generosity use the internet to communicate and spread the idea of the Linchpin. Now is the time to unite Linchpins into a network. A group, an organization, a club, whatever you want to call it. Seth can not be expected to do it for us. There is no road-map. The essence of being a Linchpin means that we can do it for others (as well as ourselves). Linchpiners with a Linchpin mindset will create an open network to facilitate The Linchpin Way. Seth has given us the tools and he has already given us the permission – it’s built into the Linchpin message. Now is the time to create The Linchpin Network.

Become the standard to measure against. Imagine a world where even performance reviews included a linchpin section along with communication skills, team work, and areas of improvement. Why not? Even better, why not have performance reviews go away entirely and only give Linchpin reviews? Shouldn’t we all strive to be measured against The Linchpin Standards, not the status quo standards?

Make Linchpin a verb:
“Just Linchpin it”. “That problem is not too big for me to Linchpin”. “I can Linchpin it with my eyes closed”.

Push Linchpin into Wikipedia so the current stub means more than the 1.0 definition of Linchpin. Don’t just stop with Wikipedia – spread it everywhere.

A unifying cry:

We must act on and expand the Linchpin 2.0 manifesto. We must change the one dimensional discussions around the book and its concepts and turn it into the multidimensional thing it was intended to be. Talking and writing about passion is but a small part of actually acting with passion. To leave Linchpin in its current state is to lock it into “a remarkable book with great ideas” but little more. We are all very pleased that Seth gave this gem to us. Let’s pick it up and grow it to match what’s in our hearts and minds. We must move the movement.

Share this by retweeting or blogging it or downloading and sharing the The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto pdf. Better yet, rebuild, beautify, and create your own manifesto and set it free. Lets take this to the next level now, not later. There is no reason 2010 can’t be the year of The Linchpin Way… and Linchstock for that matter.

The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto needs you and other Linchpins like you to take ownership. Who will create Linchstock? Who will create the Linchpin Badge? How will take The Linchpin Network, The Linchpin Way, and The Linchpin Standards to heart? Who will move the movement?

Who will put the Linchpin mindset into action to bring us all together?

This will not happen overnight and it may not happen in the ways presented here, but it needs to happen. We need the results this can produce.

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement!
Join The Linchpin Way Community.

Engage others by passing Linchpin along.

Generosity is a way of life. Giving has always been a wonderful thing. Giving Linchpin is a truly powerful thing.

Start by signing and dating your copy of Linchpin and sending it to someone you care about or ask yourself, who do you want to impact or help? Send it to them.

I have a copy of Linchpin going to Marc and Aaron the creators of Urtak. Thank you for giving us Urtak. The Linchpin Poll would not exist without your contribution, your gift, your art. Look for the book to arrive sometime next week.

Now is the time to share these ideas. Blog about this. Facebook it, tweet it. Put energy and action into these thoughts and ideas. We do not have to wait to start living The Linchpin Way or wait to act on the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto, or even wait to create Linchstock. Let’s get started, let’s start shipping.

Connect with me, comment below, twitter me – whatever it takes. I’m looking for Linchpins to move the movement. Viva La Linchpin!

This short Bio of Seth was borrowed from the99percent.com where they have a great video of Seth talking about the Lizard Brain:
SETH GODIN is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and agent of change. His recent books, which have graced the New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists, include Tribes, Purple Cow, The Dip, and All Marketers Are Liars. Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry’s leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. He holds an MBA from Stanford, and was called “the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age” by Business Week.

Seth Godin’s Full bio: http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/bio.asp
Buy Linchpin by Seth Godin
Read Seth Godin’s Blog everyday.

JUSTIN MCCULLOUGH is a Linchpin student, a mentor and online enabler as well as the temporary host of some of these Linchpin ideas, the lover of smart people, a fan of great ideas, a reader of insightful books, and a passionate person. He works for a small niche book publisher and is fueled by a passion to share. Justin is happily married, a proud father and knows he still has much to learn.

A note from the Lizard Brain. This post took 33 days to create. It started as a “regular” book review. It was drafted and redrafted 4 times. I gave up on it 9 times. I made many excuses to not create the poll, to not create the twitter accounts, to not create the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto and pdf, to not coin many of the terms used in this post and to not add friction to the shiny object (the Linchpin book) we are all enjoying so much.

Who am I to step out in front of moving traffic and think people will stop? Even as I write this sentence I am considering walking away from this article and not posting it. I fear criticism and disapproval from others including Seth. I fear that others will not stand behind this post or the idea that there is a need to move the movement, to take action and grow and share The Linchpin Way.

I’m on deadline. Regardless of the failure this could be, this is where my passion is and this is my art. I believe The Linchpin Way will help us all. I’m shipping are you?

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement! Join The Linchpin Way Community.

The Social Web Ties Us Together

By Justin McCullough

The Social Web Ties Us Together

An internet stranger told me what was happening to my next door neighbor at the Beaumont CVB even though I was 1,800 miles away from home – thanks to the social web. Interestingly, I was not specifically looking for info on my neighbor.

This is a three part’er – What Happened, How this Illustrates Web 2.0 and Why this Matters to You.

What Happened – How the dots were connected:

Yesterday, I was in Portland Oregon at the airport waiting for my flight to Houston. I logged into my twitter account and saw a

Chris Brogan – Drive Book Review

retweet of a Chris Brogan blog post about a book review. As a Brogan fan and lover of books, I followed the link to his book review. From there I looked at Brogan’s earlier post talking about alltop.com and the importance of knowing how you “stack up” on Alltop.

“This is good info”, I thought to myself. (even more info on personal branding with Alltop and why Chris Brogan thinks Alltop is great for bloggers ). So, my interest piqued, I followed the link to the Alltop.com homepage. I spent about 3.4 seconds scanning the homepage and realized I had read several of those articles already.

I wasn’t finished though, I wanted to see something I didn’t know so I scanned across the top row of navigation links and saw “New Topics” and clicked. Again, more quick scanning (my emotional investment in all this is really low at his point) then I see “Tourism Industry” and immediately think of my friends Stephanie and Ashley who handle all the marketing and communication for the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau back home in Texas (remember, I’m in Oregon).

Stephanie is a long-time friend and recently gave me a reason to speak on social media so this was a pretty quick connection. Stephanie = Tourism. In a fraction of a second, I decided that maybe I would learn about or find something interesting in the tourism industry and share it with my friends (neighbors) at the Beaumont CVB. (side note, my book publishing company does tourist related books all around the country so there was a work connection to this Alltop category as well).

Anyway, off I went into the “Tourism Industry” page and started scanning. This was all new information and I saw one line of text that stuck out: “A new twist on destination marketing with radio” from Sheila’s Guide To The Good Stuff. I later discovered that Sheila is a talented freelance writer from Austin TX.

“A new twist on destination marketing with radio” looks good to me. I mouse over it for preview information on the article.

The Beaumont CVB is on Alltop! If you follow the link, Stephanie is the one in the top right.

My mind must have been read. I was amazed to see how a seemingly random series of clicks led me to see an article directly connected too me. That’s the power of the social web. It’s also a very telling demonstration of how we are looking at the “world wide web” but seek to make relevant connections to us, our area, and our personal lives.

For the record, it does not surprise me when I come across posts for Seth Godin or Chris Brogan and countless other people because it is expected, it’s normal to see these names dotting the digital map of the internet. However, it is not ‘normal’ to see your local convention and visitors bureau via Alltop by way of Chris Brogan. At least, not normal yet…

How this Illustrates Web 2.0 – from both the creator of content and the web surfer.

I’m creating right now – this blog post. Right now, you are the web surfer. In the story above, I went to great length to paint a picture of my thoughts and actions as a web surfer. Why? Because too many people are still unsure how they fit into the fabric of the social web and I wanted to tell a “normal” story – not one that makes me look like some special web user or social media person.

It is safe to say that the story I just told is a basic experience. Go to a common place, see something interesting, follow the link, read and follow another link (or quit). I did what you would do. I shared my thought process, because you are thinking and deciding on what to do next as well. Nothing new here. This is normal stuff.

Here’s were Web 2.0 kicks in.

Stephanie, was either invited or created an opportunity to be on KSET AM radio to talk about Beaumont Tourism. She (or someone else tweeted it on twitter) from which Sheila saw the tweet and, as explained in her blog post, made a personal connection with Beaumont (even though she is in Austin) and followed the link to the online radio show. According to Sheila, she was already thinking about radio based on something happening in San Antonio and this Beaumont CVB tweet was building on that event in her mind. She was compelled to sit down and write a blog post sharing her perspective on radio, the internet, and my good friend Stephanie.

Does Sheila (Freelance Writer in Austin TX) know Stephanie (Marketing Director in Beaumont TX)? She may, but I don’t think so. Do I know Sheila? Not at all. Was I tracking or searching for Stephanie or Sheila? Nope, I was following interesting links which originated from my enjoyment of Chris Brogan.

As this story reveals, we are all disconnected (or independent) and yet connected through the social web.

Why This Matters to You – online and offline

Now that virtually everyone is online and almost everyone is in some social place (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc) that means the work you do, the things you say and the people you impact could end up online – either by you or by someone else. This is great for brand development, personal branding, exposure, SEO, business building, marketing, creating friends etc. But it also means that we have to be mindful of our actions, both online and offline, because “somebody” is watch, listening, or somehow involved and they now have a platform to share their experience – the social web. If you do good things, the social web will feed you. If you do bad things, the social web will squeeze you.

So, regardless of whether or not you have embraced the social web, know that the social web has already included you. And as this story shows, one small informative tweet can go a long way (through Austin TX and into Alltop.com) or if you’re like me, one misstep on the social web can get a lot of unexpected attention.

Bottom line: Since it’s here with or without you, you may as well embrace (and feed) the social web.

Keep doing good!

2010 Book Reading List – 1st load

By Justin McCullough

2010 Book Reading List – 1st load

I have a habit of buying many books at once – in bulk. Thanks to nice folks giving me BN.com gift cards, this is my first load of books for 2010. Here’s to happy reading!

Justin's "to read" stack – January 2010

Job Titles are Obsolete in 2010 and Beyond.

By Justin McCullough

Job Titles are Obsolete in 2010 and Beyond.

What’s your title? What’s your skill? Is it one or two things, or maybe three things? If so, you’re in trouble over the next 10 years.

The days of being a “plumber” or an “artist” are gone. No more and never again will a person be able to be just one thing and be successful. Now and moving forward, you must be multiversatile – capable of many things across many fields competently.

You already see it in the local business owner who is the accountant, the salesman, the customer service rep, the help desk, and the human resources department. But it’s not just for business owners anymore. Now it’s the regular guys. The $10/hr guys.

The guys who will get ahead will be the ones who learn to express their ideas in a blog, an audio clip or a video – even if they are not “writers” or “camera men”. The guys who will win are the ones who learn to setup a website, a hosting account, and a wireless network – even if they are not “programmers” or “network engineers”. The guys who will have more accounts, more sales and better reputations will be the guys using facebook, twitter, along with teleseminars and local conferences – even if they are not “social media consultants”.

As we go forward, titles are pointless. If you want to win, you must be bigger than any job title and be able to demonstrate the ability to cross a wide spectrum of skills that were never before required. The good news is if you do it now, you’ll still be with the pack or maybe even ahead of the pack – for a little while.

What are you doing to blow up your job title and explode with success?

Here’s 7 things you can do:

Pick a friend in the company (or at another company) and cross train with them
Learn twitter, facebook, blogging, or any other current technology
Even if it’s not your job, pick a project, make it your own, and run with it.
Learn more about leadership, sales, and/or marketing – you can’t go wrong with these skills!
Get out – go to seminars, conference, workshops, and events.
Become an expert on your business (not your job specialty)
Become the in-house trainer on topics / skills.

// Edit // See Bernie Bay’s thoughts on the future of business and predictions on the next decade.

Leaders are Readers My 2009 Book List

By Justin McCullough

Leaders are Readers My 2009 Book List

So, two blog post got me thinking about the books I’ve read this year. One from Annie Sorenson which I misstated the books I’ve read and another from Lauren Leto where I ribbed her for not having any business books on her list.

Anyway, I am often asked “how I know what I know” and while I’d like to take credit for having a huge brain, vast intelligence and an uncanny ability to see the world in a way no one else does, I simply can’t tell that lie. The truth is, a lot of what I know and the insights I have is because of what I choose to read. I then apply these insights into my world view and cement them in real life examples of my own – making them my own, but most of what I know is seeded from great books. I typically read 3 or 4 books at one time. That seems to keep me the most interested and also allows me to cover several topics at one time.

I’ve found that books on business, self improvement, sales and just about anything else are truly the cliff notes to success. All you have to do is invest some of your time and attention and a few bucks and you can learn what took someone else countless hours of personal experience and research to create. Reading books is so much smarter, faster, and more insightful than college classes. Of course, it’s worthless if you don’t apply what you read or learn and it doesn’t matter if you are reading books that only serve an entertainment purpose.

I think I’ve covered all the books from this year. The following is my list of books from 2009.

Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton. (read this twice this year)
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki with Sharon Lechter (second year in a row to read this book)
The Microsoft Edge by Julie Bick
Tribes by Seth Godin (very quick book – read twice this year)
Innovation by Tom Gorman
Multipreneuring by Tom Gorman
How Full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton ( I read this at least once a year).
The Big Red Fez by Seth Godin
Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman
All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin
Free Publicity by Jeff Criley
The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott
Unleashing the Idea Virus by Seth Godin
Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz
The New Influeners by Paul Gillin
No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy
What Would Google Do by Jeff Jarvis (have this on audio – 2 times this year).
The Google Story by David Vise
Purple Cow by Seth Godin (have this on audio – 5 times this year).
Small is the New Big by Seth Godin (have this on audio – 3 times this year).
Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell (have this on audio – 2 times this year).
The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
How to Build a Complete Sales Person by Bryan Dodge (have this on audio – 3 times this year).
Influence. The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven ways to be Persuasive by Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini
91 Mistakes Smart Sales People Make by Tim Conner
The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Succesful Sales People by Stephan Shiffman
Cold Calling Techniques by Stephen Shiffman
How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J Fox.
Magic Bullets by Michael Kessee and Ankesh Kothari
The Dip by Seth Godin
What Matters Now by Seth Godin and friends (free ebook)
Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
The Shack by William P Young

Liesure reading:

NEXT by Michael Chrichton
Ghost Radio by leopoldo Gout
Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
No Survivors by Tom Cain
Ghost Medicine by Andrew Smith
The Boxer and the Spy by Robert B Parker

So what are you reading? Do you agree that books are better than college? What do you recommend I read in 2010?

8 Must Know About Social Media Search Tools

By Justin McCullough

8 Must Know About Social Media Search Tools

I’m often asked by business owners, friends and even other marketers about recommended tools for social media and websites. Here is a quick list of social media search tools you really must know about.

Free tracking tool for your website or blog:

Google Analytics – This free analytics tool will tell you everything you need to know about your website traffic, pageviews, source of visitors, and so much more. It’s free to signup and easy to use.

BlogTracker by IceRocket – This free analytics tool is geared to serve blogs only. A good tool that works directly with IceRocket.

Free search tools for your blogs and twitter:

Google Alerts – This is an easy and powerful tool that lets you setup keywords or phrases to keep track of and Google will tell you every time those words or phrases are used in new posts online. Great way to be notified when your brand name, company, product, blog or real name gets used and where. Good for spotting trends, seeking out issues for damage control, or staying up to speed on a developing topic.

Google Blogsearch – Pretty straightforward use of Google Search technology only its applied to the spectrum of blog posts as opposed to the entire spectrum of the web. Search for a keyword of phrase and you will find blogs that match your search.

Blogpulse – A blog search engine that offers a variety of ways to search blogs, see blogging trends and blogging statistics. This service is offered by Nielsen and reports to have 126.4 Million blogs indexed (as of today). This tool offers so many ways to slice and dice your data that you really need to see the benefits and uses here.

Technorati – A blog search engine that is free to use and very popular. It also reports top blogs overall and lets you surf by popular categories. If you want to know what’s being talked about today, look to Technorati for the jump start.

IceRocket – A blog search engine that also has trending tools and top blogs. This is a handy reference if you are trying to see things from a different perspective other then Blogpulse or Technorati.

Twitter Search – Search twitter on keywords and see up-to-the-minute tweets on that keyword. Great way to find out who is saying what RIGHT NOW. Easy to search for your brand, product service, website etc. Also if you are looking to find like minded folks, this makes it easy to find people tweeting on topics that interest you.

This may seem like a short list, and there are many more services available, but this is a practical baseline you should know about.

Feel free to share any additional services you recommend.

Explore!

Act on your Linchpin mindset with this Linchpin Poll

Unite Linchpin’s by going to the edges.

The Linchpin 2.0 Vision Statement:

The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto:

A unifying cry:

Engage others by passing Linchpin along.

What Happened – How the dots were connected:

How this Illustrates Web 2.0 – from both the creator of content and the web surfer.

Why This Matters to You – online and offline

Free tracking tool for your website or blog:

Free search tools for your blogs and twitter:

Are you trying to figure out what to do next with your career?