Are you indispensable?

I was just catching up again on some podcasts and blogs and caught a mention of the upcoming release of marketing guru Seth Godin‘s latest book Linchpin. Amazon has its release date as Jan. 26.

In a podcast interview with Mitch Joel, Godin gave a brief preview of a concept he covers in Linchpin that really makes sense for the times we’re in.

It’s a simple truth that people in the workplace – now more than ever – can’t afford to just go to work, do their job like everyone else around them, and go home.

If they do, Godin says, they’re far from indispensable. They’re easily replaceable. First in line for the layoffs you could say.

I think there’s a lot of truth to that.

About 18 minutes into the podcast, Godin tells Joel: “You don’t win by being more average than all the people in your industry. You don’t win by being more compliant by everyone else who is your co-worker. That being more obedient at what you do all day is not going to make you more indispensable. What makes someone indispensable is that they do something that other people can’t do. And I think if we’re honest with ourselves, most people, every day, go to work trying to not do that. We go to work trying to be just like everyone else because that feels safe. And in today’s economy, and I think in the foreseeable future, that is the riskiest strategy in the world.”

Did you catch that? You need to be an employee who does something other people can’t do. Makes sense, we all joke about someone in the office who has “job security” for something they are the go-to guy or gal for, right?

Godin also offers a preview of Linchpin, as part of a free ebook offered via J.C. Hutchins titled In the Nick of Time.