The Fallacy of the Linchpin Theory

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

After reading Seth Godin’s book Linchpin, I was reminded of the volume of  information circulating of late espousing the benefits of making yourself indispensable to your employer. While this mantra has clearly gained some traction, if not actually becoming quite popular, popular thinking does not necessarily equate to sound thinking. Let me be as clear as I can – nobody, and I mean nobody is indispensable. I don’t care who you are, what role you play, or what your title is…if you perceive yourself to be indispensable, you are setting yourself up for a very rude awakening.  Furthermore, anyone who by design sets out to orchestrate a situation to make themselves indispensable is not operating in good faith. In today’s post I’m going to share my thoughts as to why the myth of becoming indispensable is very dangerous thinking to say the least…  

A well managed company does not allow itself to become dependent upon the performance of any single individual. Those individuals who attempt to hoard knowledge, relationships, or resources to attain job security should not to be valued or viewed as indispensable, but should be admonished as ineffective and deemed a liability. Corporate talent that cannot be shared, duplicated, distributed, or leveraged is not nearly as valuable as talent that can.

So, where has all this recent self-indulgent, misguided thinking come from? I believe much of it stems from the self-help types that proliferate the concept of self-promotion for self-benefit over the concept of service above self. As I mentioned earlier, more distressing is that this concept was recently validated in Seth Godin’s new book Linchpin.  

Let me begin by stating that I’m a Seth Godin fan. While I agree with him more often than not, I will from time-to-time find myself shaking my head wondering what in the heck could Seth possibly be thinking? In his recent book Linchpin, Seth Godin puts forth some great concepts that we should all aspire to. I wholeheartedly agree that each of us should become the best we can be, that our work should become developed and refined to the point where it is viewed as art, and we are seen as the artist behind the masterpiece. So much of what you’ll read in between the covers of Linchpin is as close to inspirational brilliance as you’ll find in a business book, which is why it pains me to have to point out the critical flaw in Linchpin that regrettably overshadows the highlights – namely the concept of the linchpin itself. 

Seth describes a linchpin as somebody in an organization who is indispensable - who simply cannot be replaced because their role is just far too unique and valuable. Making things worse, he then goes on to say how important it is for all of us to become indispensable, for not to be indispensable is tantamount to economic and career suicide. Encouraging somebody to make the most of their talents and abilities is quite laudable – encouraging them to become indispensable is validating a new level of self worship that I find quite troubling.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that anyone who sets out to make themselves indispensable would be the one committing career suicide for two reasons: 1.) anyone who is ”perceived” as indispensable in their current role completely eliminates any possibility of promotion, and; 2.) Any good leadership team who finds themselves dependant upon a linchpin will immediately move to mitigate the risk of finding themselves in such an untenable position.

It is an organization’s ability to collect and convert data into information, turn information into knowledge, and knowledge into an operating advantage that allows an enterprise to effectively address current needs as well as to strategically drive innovation and forward planning. This cannot happen if one person positions themselves as a linchpin. Put more simply, a corporation’s employees must be able to acquire knowledge (learning), transfer knowledge (out of the head and into an information system), apply knowledge (from the information system into an actionable event), manage knowledge (execute with focus, timing and precision), and secure knowledge (keep it from evaporating or even worse from walking out the door to a competitor). Let’s see if we can bring this issue a bit closer to home for some of you…Ask yourself the following questions:

• Have you ever had a disruption in business continuity because someone who possessed a wealth of experience and/or information retired, quit or was terminated?
• Have you ever lost a deal or had a major operational problem because somewhere in your organization you found yourself dependent upon a single person’s expertise and they dropped the ball?
• Have you ever found yourself in the unenviable position of desiring to terminate an employee only to be held hostage by the fear of losing the knowledge that they possess?

While I could go on ad-nauseum with day-to-day operating examples of how a linchpin can adversely affect a business, I think I’ve probably dredged-up enough painful memories for now. As a CEO or entrepreneur, the fact that you would allow an employee to become indispensable to begin with means that at a minimum you have a lack of transparency and continuity in your organization, and more probably that you lack depth of talent and are weak in process and knowledge management.

How would you answer this question…Is your company talent poor and linchpin dependent, or talent rich or linchpin independent? From my perspective there is a monumental difference between real tier-one talent and a primadonna who thinks of themselves as indispensable. Employees who represent true tier-one talent see themselves as part of the team seeking to make those around them more successful. Contrast this with those primadonnas who are interested solely in their own success without regard to those around them. Any company that bestows a primadonna with recognition as somehow being indispensable, is a company about ready to experience a completely avoidable disaster. 

If you want to eliminate unnecessary dependencies, don’t allow any individual to create ultimate domain over anything that is considered key or mission critical. Instead create a culture that values transparency, knowledge management, mentoring, coaching, and process. By doing these things you will add both depth and breadth to your organization and increase the overall level of talent across the enterprise. Bottom line…encourage people to be a valuable part of the team, to maximize their contribution to others and the overall enterprise, but under no circumstances allow someone be become the proverbial cog in the wheel.

The Vaule of Candor

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

While candor is often trivialized or viewed as less than tasteful, it nonetheless rates very highly in my book. I want people to know where I stand, and vice-versa. I’m not suggesting that we don’t use tact in our communications, but people have become far too sensitive for my tastes. So my question is this: Have you been told that you have a bit of an edge? If so, you have likely found that it serves you very well. Let me be clear that when I refer to an edge I’m not talking about rough edges, or confusing an edgy presence with rude or arrogant behavior. What I am refering to is having a direct, no B.S. approach that allows you to get right to the heart of an issue in the shortest time-frame possible. 

On several occasions I’ve received that “I can’t believe you just said that” look from clients. In fact, one interaction in particular does a good job of conveying the value of having an edge…I had a client look directly at me and say: “If I spoke to my clients like that they would fire me right on the spot…How do you get away with that?” My question back to him was: “Why don’t you fire me?” His response: “because you tell me what I need to hear as opposed to what you think I want to hear, and I value that.” My reply: “That’s how I get away with it.”

Most people value candor, and if they don’t, I’ve found that they tend to live in an ego-centric, altered state of denial that will result in many unnecessary hardships. I coined the following phrase to address these delusional types: “Those who seek shelter in the wisdom of sound counsel must also be willing to take refuge there…Those unwilling to do the latter, really don’t value the former.” 

I’ve never been accused of being politically correct, or a shrinking violet. In fact, my edge is a large part of my competitive value proposition. I don’t sugar coat, gloss-over, or spin…rather I tell you what you need to hear, which is always the truth, regardless of whether or not it is easy to swallow. My clients tell me that having someone to hold them accountable, challenge their business logic, force them out of comfort zones, and tell them the truth is a rarity in the marketplace (remember that scarcity = value).

As a validation for what I’ve communicated above, among the most common requests received by coaching referral services are inquiries looking for “strong” coaches. The simple truth of the matter is that I’ve rarely encountered a successful professional advisor, entrepreneur, executive, or any leader for that matter who doesn’t have a bit of an edge. 

Here’s another question: How sharp is your edge? We’ve all come across those people in our lives who don’t just possess an edge, but they have taken their edge to a completely different level having honed it to a razor’s edge…These people not only possess the qualities espoused above, but they have also learned how to appropriately leverage their edge by using it for the right purpose at the right time. Whether they use their edge as a subtle carving tool used for shaping and refining, a surgical blade used to implement change, as a lightning rod for shock-and-awe purposes, or a defensive instrument of protection, they know when to use it, and when to keep it in check. So, I ask again…Do you have and edge, and if so, how sharp is your edge?

The Truth about PR

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Much to the chagrin of traditional PR firms, the practice of public relations is changing faster than most firms can keep pace with. If the image to the left even remotely resembles how you feel when you interact with your PR firm, then it’s time to rethink things…Traditional firms who define their practice by writing press releases and conducting media pitches are seeing clients jump ship faster than politicians can sling mud. PR firms that “get it” have surpassed advertising agencies moving into the forefront of brand building, digital marketing, social media marketing, reputation management, and influence peddling. In this week’s column I share my thoughts on the changing landscape of public relations…

In today’s ultra competitive global economy, the battle to win the hearts and minds of very broad and diverse constituencies has never been more critical or challenging. Savvy corporate clients are no longer settling for old school PR, and have mandated that both the strategy and tactics of PR evolve to meet the fluidity of market demands. Public relations is no longer about agency interns and thirty-something staffers pitching a story idea, or attempting to book a speaking engagement. Rather PR done right has everything to do with a new generation of influence agents who leverage relationships to open doors and markets, create buzz across mediums and geographies, who carefully protect and manage reputations, and who build dominant personal and corporate brands.  

A good PR initiative in today’s world transcends media relations…It enables the achievement of client business objectives through whatever ethical means are required to get the job done while increasing brand equity in the process. If your PR firm cannot break through political barriers via lobbying efforts, help facilitate joint ventures and strategic partnerships, manage personal or corporate reputations online, and build a dominant brand then you have the wrong agency on retainer.

I’m always amazed at the substantial budgets companies expend with PR firms who not only fail to deliver, but who actually tarnish their client’s brand. The market is fraught with recent examples of sophomoric efforts on the part of name brand PR firms who have flubbed blogging and social media initiatives, mismanaged publicity stunts, crossed ethical boundaries, and otherwise have placed their clients in untenable situations. The bottom line is that when it comes to protecting and advancing your brand through the creation and execution of sound business opportunities, don’t just buy into a pitch from an old-line agency that has not proven that they have transitioned their practice to the realities of the current business climate. 

In the final analysis when it comes to selecting a PR firm don’t buy a pitch, be sold on a brand, or even the brands that an agency has represented in the past. Rather look at the recent growth of the agency while considering who you want as a strategic business partner, who understands your business objectives, and who can deliver the results…