Last week, I was in New York to speak at Blogworld and to record a segment at MSNBC for my new book, Small Town Rules. When I was invited up to the green room, I was surprised to meet one of my favorite business icons, Seth Godin. I have read and admired his work for a long time. I read his daily wisdom in my inbox. Whenever I contacted him, he has always been generous with his help. Meeting Seth briefly IRL (in real life) was no different. He immediately made everyone feel comfortable. He complimented me on my books. He gave sincere encouragement to the others in the room.
This is one business leader that truly practices what he writes about. This is probably why, like many rock stars, he can be identified by just one name: Seth and immediately everyone knows who you are talking about.
Three of my favorite accolades about Seth are:
1. Changing the world. His idea about “tribes” changed the status quo and created movements. As Seth writes, “It’s tribes, not money, not factories, that can change our world, that can change politics, that can align numbers of people. Not because you force them… but because they want to connect“.
2. Beyond a dozen bestselling books. He doesn’t just sell books, he promotes philanthropy. For the release of one of his books, Seth sent a free copy if you made a donation $30 to the Acumen Fund and ended up generating $100,000.
3. Promoting more change. In 2008, Seth created a program meant to be an alternative to getting an MBA in grad school based at his office inNew York. Out of 48,000 people interested, 9 were chosen through extensive interviewing and graduated in July 2009. In early 2012, he was asked the question, “what do you think we ought to do about education?” and responded with a 30,000 word essay.
What do you like best about Seth Godin?
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Barry, the list is so long I know I’ll miss so many things about Seth that make him SO REMARKABLE. Every morning I wake up to Seth’s wisdom, and many times I yell out loud “Damn!” because it’s something I’ve been thinking about or talking about, and he so succinctly, so confidently, just puts it out there, and provokes a call to action. I have bought cases of Purple Cow and The Dip for friends and clients, and many more of his tons of other books. He is a leader, an icon, but most importantly, one of the most critical thinkers in the USA right now about what it means to be an innovator. He challenges all of us to push up and out, to share above and beyond, to be confident enough to speak up and not hide behind “likes” on Facebook, but rather, to take a stand for what we believe in, despite potential criticism. And that is scary. You do it every day Barry, and I applaud you for it. Seth challenges me daily to think about what mark I want to make in this world, what my responsibility is to our global community, and in what ways can I use my strengths and networks for more good. Our motto at Bamboo is “Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable” but when I read Seth I realize that I need to keep pushing myself out of that comfort zone, out of that box, and to keep inventing, keep sharing, keep growing. Thank you for this posting. I met Seth our first month in business at the Event Marketer Conference and I was tongue tied and “super-fan” like, and I envy your chance to just have a conversation with him! Bravo for all the work you both do to stimulate challenging conversations and promote ACTION. Trac
Thanks for the kind note Tracy!