Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? – Book Review
The thing I liked about the book- The novel term linchpin and its definition.
In the words of the author, “the only way to get what you are worth is to stand out, to exert indispensable, and to produce interactions that organisations and people care deeply about.” These lines vary beautifully summarise what the author has to say.
The world has seen a qualitative change since information technology and computer-based jobs around the globe. The definition of a genius has been defined and redefined. The terms productivity has been redefined. No person has remained untouched by the challenges of modern times thrown at human beings.
The author coins the term ‘Linchpin’ and describes the period in his own words. The author says that no one can be a genius all the time. Everyone can be a genius at a point in time. The various components of society have been behaving. There are no possibilities left for a person to be a genius because human beings think of a stable life these days. Person act as per the dictums of society as they have been taught and trained and hence remain average. A person is working and living in an environment getting influenced by rules, regulations, of bureaucracy. So the employee behaves as if suffering from a fear of losing their job. Hence big corporations prefer low-paid, replaceable employees to run the machines.
The system wants an employee to do their work and have limited thinking. The road map to work is designed by the owners and management so that an employee becomes a cog in the machine. The industrialist believes in the theory of employing easily replaceable workers. In that case, the low wages employee always has a looming danger of losing the job. Thus the system works to support the owner and not the worker.
What qualities one needs to swim across the world are exceptional insight, the promise to deliver, and a generous attitude. Hence the possibility of having more significant opportunities and profit distribution for everyone involved. So it is a give and receives where the market system governs things. Therefore it is up to the individual to aim for abundance and get what they want to achieve.
The author suggests a person work as a passionate achiever, creating value for themself and the work. The author suggests that a person who does not bind himself/herself in a self-learning thought process can make a difference and rise above mediocracy. The author points to bring a change in the education system and train the students to learn to solve problems and leadership.
Hence any person who creates and maintains value in his job is helpful and cannot be replaced easily by the organisation. These days one needs to emphasise practising the art of interaction. The one who can solve problems that no other person has seen or observed and connects the people desirous of getting connected can survive. This person may have fears, but they acknowledge the fear and move on. Successful people face failures in life, but their viewpoint has a different dimension, and because of this reason they are successful.
Art and artists can never be outdated. Artists always create and gift. Hence creation and invention make an artist indispensable. A gift permanently binds two persons, whereas a contract isolates individuals with money as the connecter.
To conclude, it can be said that Linchpin sees the world as it is. They do not make any remark or policy as a personal attack. They add passion to the job. They want to put in the right effort at the right time and in the right place.
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