Contributed by: Winston Faircloth
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I have a confession. I failed first grade art class for coloring outside the lines. My harvest hay-bale was purple and pumpkins were not the traditional orange like the other first graders. All these years, I have felt that my artistic abilities were stifled at this very impressionable age by the disapproval of my teacher. I cried the day I brought that “F” in coloring home to my parents.
Seth Godin’s latest masterpiece Linchpin, has once again unleashed my artistic and creative life-force. My first grade teacher was looking for conformity and predictability---just like nearly every teacher I faced growing up. Yes, there were a few “odd-ball” teachers I encountered along the way. Yet I find it amazing that three decades removed from high school, the only ones I can quote today were the teachers that seemed to march to a different drummer. They were artists, whether they taught English literature or Colonial History.
This book feels like a personal one on one discussion, so I’ll refer to my new friend by his first name. In this book, Seth reawakens the artist within each one of us. After a century of interchangeable, disposable labor where conformity, punctuality, and longevity were prized ---there is a new career option where being remarkable, being generous, creating art and connecting people/ideas are valued and desired.
Unfortunately, many organizations are still in the old mindset when it comes to staffing: “keep your head down, follow instructions, show up on time, work hard and suck it up.” Even within Upic, we tend to track hours worked rather than the value we create. Seth has a great term for this phenomenon: “attendance based compensation.”
Fortunately, Seth blazes a pathway out of becoming a commodity at work. “Wait, are you saying that I have to stop following instructions and start being an artist? Someone who dreams up new ideas and makes them real? Someone who finds new ways to interact, new pathways to deliver emotion, new ways to connection? Someone who acts like a human, not a cog? Me? –Yes (page 89).
Most importantly, Seth delivers an entire chapter to overcoming "the resistance" to what we innately know is the right path for fulfillment—make sure to read this chapter at least twice. Far too many times, I let that little voice of doubt stop me from creating something magical.
Whether we have been with United Way thirty days or thirty years, it is important to remember why we joined this movement--to create lasting change. Each and every day we get the opportunity to create art during our interactions with donors, service providers and clients.
Thank you, Seth. I’ve dog-eared 27 pages on the first pass through your book. I’m definitely going to read it again and share it with my staff at our upcoming gathering. I’m committed to helping our organization become more human, more remarkable, and more generous with our membership.