Today I finished Seth Godin's book Small is the New Big (and 183 other riffs, rants, and remarkable business ideas).
It's awesome.
I quickly became a big fan of Godin's after reading Purple Cow. I know he's not infallible and not all of his ideas are utter magic, able to turn companies from rag to riches in one fell swoop. But a lot of them just might.
In fact, I bet Seth wouldn't say anyone should accept his ideas without thinking. He actually opens the book with the following warning:
Don't read this book all at once.
This is smart advice (and rarely do authors tell you how to read their books). With nearly 200 ideas here, the book reads like a blog. And it should. After all, the book is a collection of some of his ideas he's been throwing out there for the last few years. The book is designed to make you think, which is what is best about Godin's advice, whether in this book or any of his others.
Thinking isn't something people are paid to do often. And it's a shame. Very often, people are paid to follow rules. They're told how to do something. They're given a script. They're supposed to do what they're told.
As a result, they're not able to think for themselves, which means it's easier to miss the point of a very precious business thing called 'service.' People simply do what they're supposed to do until they go home, even if means alienating a customer or ignoring a real problem.
What are you thinking about today? Are you thinking how you'd want to be treated and treating your clients, constituents and customers the same way? Are you thinking what could happen if no one came back? Are you thinking that tomorrow you could wake up and everything could be different?
If so, you need to think about reading this book.