On school, ...that 7 hours a day, ...I can no longer............ 
some definitions straight from Godin's words in Linchpin:
linchpin: ..A linchpin owns their own means of production, makes things happen, makes a difference, leads, connects, cares, contributes, does more than he (she) is told. They can accurately see the truth, understand the situation, and understand the potential outcomes of various decisions. A linchpin is a certain sort of indispensable team member who always finds a yes. She (he) doesn't wait for instructions, instead always manages to find a way to make things happen. If you can define a person, they are not a linchpin (linchpins are asymptotal.) Passion isn't project-specific. It's people specific...The combination of passion and art is what makes someone a linchpin. The linchpin says, "If I lean enough, it's okay if I get fired, because I'll have demonstrated my value to the marketplace. If the rules are the only thing between me and becoming indispensable, I don't need the rules."
art: The intentional act of connecting to someone else and changing them. People look at the *work and they are changed. A gift that changes the recipient, only intent matters. Art is human. Art is not related to craft, except to the extent that the craft helps deliver the change. If it's easy and risk free, (and definable), it's unlikely that it's art. Art changes posture.
work as art: The act of bringing your whole self to work, of engaging in tasks that require maturity and soul and personal strength, and doing it for the right reason. Nothing but a platform for art and the *emotional labor that goes with it. Your job is not your work; what you do with your heart and soul is the work. The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.
[why it's vital to know whom you are working for: 1) understanding your audience allows you to target your work and to get feedback that will help you do it better next time. 2) it tells you whom to ignore.]
emotional labor: The task of doing important work, even when it isn't easy.
thrashing: The apparently productive brainstorming and tweaking we do for a project as it develops. Professional creators thrash early.
on shipping: Sometimes shipping (publishing) feels like a compromise. You set out to make a huge difference, to create art that matters and to do your best work. Then the deadline arrives and you have to cut it short. Is shipping that important? I think it is. I think the discipline of shipping is essential in the long-term path to becoming indispensable. .. Shipping becomes part of the art and shipping makes it work. Shipping is the collision between your work and the outside world. Unshipped insight doesn't count for much. (my words... this goes along with the current "publish then edit" society via the web.)
so..
Still straight from Linchpin..
The reason that start-ups almost always defeat large companies in the rush to market is simple: start-ups have fewer people to coordinate, less thrashing, and more linchpins per square foot. They can't afford anything else and they have less to lose.
There are 2 solutions to the coordination problem, and both of them make people uncomfortable, because both challenge our resistance.
1. Relentlessly limit the number of people allowed to thrash. That means you need form procedures for excluding people, even well-meaning people with authority. And you need secrecy. If you have a choice between being surprised (and wawtching a great project ship on time) or being involved (and participating in theh late launch of a mediocre project), which do you want? You must pick one or the other.
2. Appoint one person (a linchpin) to run it. Not to co-run it or to lead a task force or to be on the committee. One person, a human being, runs it. Her (his) name on it. Her (his) decisions.
ok - back to me talking now....
i think we need to get small and focused and make this
There are 2 solutions to the coordination problem, and both of them make people uncomfortable, because both challenge our resistance.
1. Relentlessly limit the number of people allowed to thrash. That means you need form procedures for excluding people, even well-meaning people with authority. And you need secrecy. If you have a choice between being surprised (and wawtching a great project ship on time) or being involved (and participating in theh late launch of a mediocre project), which do you want? You must pick one or the other.
2. Appoint one person (a linchpin) to run it. Not to co-run it or to lead a task force or to be on the committee. One person, a human being, runs it. Her (his) name on it. Her (his) decisions.
ok - back to me talking now....
i think we need to get small and focused and make this
happen.
i'm suggesting our procedure for limiting people is this: it starts with us...
One more idea - straight from the book:
In every corporation in every country in the world, people are waiting to be told what to do. Sure, many of us pretend that we'd love to have control and authority and to bring our humanity to work. But given half a chance, we give it up, in a heartbeat...
..why are we so afraid about creating art that is actually within our grasp?..
..We need you to stand up and be remarkable. Be human. Contribute. Interact. Take the risk that you might make someone upset with your initiative, innovation, and insight - it turns out that you'll probably delight them instead.
________________________________________________________
