"We don’t have a talent shortage, we have a shipping shortage."- Linchpin, page 235
Thousands of years ago, the safest way to stay alive was to fit in. You didn’t get eaten by a sabre tooth tiger if you avoided attention and stayed within the confines of the tribe. Wandering into a new valley was legitimate cause for concern because there was the very real possibility that you’d end up as dinner. Exploring the unknown = dangerous. Following directions = safe. Tens of thousands of years of conditioning has wired your brain this way. But we no longer have to worry about sabre tooth tigers. In fact, if you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you have very little to legitimately fear in life in general.
And yet, we’re still afraid. We feel fear before a big presentation or a sales meeting. We feel fear before we pick up the phone to call someone for a first date. We irrationally feel fear because that primordial section of our brain (Seth calls it the ‘lizard brain’) sees anything that is new – anything that requires independent thought – as a risk to our personal safety. Keeping your head down and doing as you’re told satisfies the lizard brain. It also makes you generic and replaceable.
“Shipping” is the act of giving your art – your beyond-the-training-manual-efforts – to the world. Shipping is a major cause of lizard brain. The uncertainty of the outcome creates fear. Virgin is comprised of over 70 independent businesses. Richard Branson ships. Seth Godin has written 12 books in 11 years. Seth ships. Great leaders and innovators of our time (of all time) are not immune to the lizard brain fear. They feel it, just like the rest of us, and proceed regardless of it. They rise above the lizard brain and do their art for the benefit of those around them. Regularly and repeatedly, they ship.
"Professional creators thrash early. The closer the project gets to completion, the fewer people see it and the fewer changes are permitted."- Linchpin, page 104
Have you ever had a group project or deliverable that took longer or cost more (or both) than was originally budgeted? In so many cases as we get closer to a delivery date, more people get involved and more revisions “need” to be made. This is the lizard brain at work. Launching something is nerve wracking, precisely because it’s saying, “We’re done. Here’s our best attempt.” And subjecting yourself to public scrutiny. The closer you get to the ship date, the more aggressively the lizard brain injects its fear. The lizard brain would rather fuss over details for a few more weeks. The lizard brain would rather ask the opinion of more people, so we can point fingers of blame when we get negative criticism. The lizard brain wants to shirk all responsibility, because it’s “safer that way.” It’s not safer that way. Maybe it used to be, but in the 21st century, you’re either going beyond the training manual, or the training manual is being given to someone cheaper. If your job is a commodity, you will lose.
The way to combat the lizard brain on new projects is to thrash early. Get all the necessary people involved at the beginning of the project, not the end. Work through all the options while the lizard brain is still sleeping. Then, as you get closer to the deadline, make fewer changes, not more. Ship – on time and on budget – by dealing with the lizard brain proactively.
"Serious artists distinguish between the work and the stuff they have to do when they’re not doing the work."- Linchpin, page 195
We’re all busy. We’re all working more hours than we should be, doing our best to do more with less time. Being an artist isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing more of what’s important (and less of what’s not). It’s about bringing your unique gifts to your work and providing exceptional, unexpected value to your company and clients.
We have more ways to distract ourselves from crucial work than ever before. We can so easily justify three hours a day on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. We’re networking, right? We’re “keeping our eyes open for new opportunities.” No. Picking up the phone and calling that potential client would be far more effective. Then again, it might be a disaster. Uncertainty awakens the lizard brain. There’s nothing risky about surfing the web all day. We can literally disappear into a time-suck of busy work that does nothing to further our value to our company or our clients, simply by listening to the lizard brain and doing what feels easy. Don’t do what feels easy. Listen to your gut, and recognize that whatever the lizard brain is telling you to stay away from is probably exactly where you should be focusing your energy and attention. Feel the fear. Do it anyway.
As Seth illustrates brilliantly in Linchpin, the old system is dead. It’s not a debate, it simply is. You can either ignore that fact (as most dying companies of the automotive, newspaper, and music industries have done) or you can do something about it. You can choose to provide exceptional value. You can choose to provide more than what your job description and training manual tell you to do. You can make a tangible difference in the lives of your customers by exerting emotional effort and bringing your unique gifts to work. Choose to do that, and the new world order will reward you. But make no mistake – it is a choice, and it is up to you to make it. No one’s saying it’s easy. It takes effort, courage, and a certain degree of tenacity. And, as Seth says, “It’s possible that no one ever pushed you to be brave enough to go this far out on a limb.”
SETH GODIN is the author of 17 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything. You might be familiar with his books Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip and Purple Cow.
