When I read Hugh MacLeod’s review of Seth Godin’s latest business book Linchpin, I was struck by the following paragraph in which MacLeod may have revealed more than he had intended about Godin’s career as a writer.
In his best-known book, Purple Cow, Seth’s message was, “Everyone’s a marketer now.” In All Marketers Are Liars, his message was, “Everyone’s a storyteller now.” In Tribes, his message was, “Everyone’s a leader now.” And from Linchpin? “Everyone’s an artist now.” By Seth’s definition, an artist is somebody who does (and I LOVE this term) “emotional work.”
It occurred to me one might observe that Mr. Godin has been growing more insightful as his writing career progressed. But frankly, that wasn’t what struck me. What seemed obvious about the progression was the need to have a new product to sell every few years on which to grow one’s punditry and consulting business.
