Is Godin coming or going?

Seth Godin and the dome of creativityI've been a fan of marketing guru Seth Godin ever since I first downloaded his free "Spreading the Idea Virus" e-book onto my Palm V a decade ago. I've also read hardcover versions of "Tribes" and "Purple Cow," listened to an audio version of "Small is the New Big," and subscribe to his daily blog posts.

His work often leaves me energized and spurs me to bursts of creativity.

"Linchpin," Seth Godin's last traditional bookHis latest major title is "Linchpin," (whose Kindle version came bundled with a bonus e-book titled "Insubordinate"). Like many of Godin's recent books, there's little new content, just some fresh content weaved through a curated collection of previous blog posts. It's an M.O. that has worked well his past few books.

This time around, however, I felt like I had to fight my way through Godin's lessons. Not because I didn't agree with a lot of what he said but more because I found myself tiring of Godin's messages, which all follow a familiar theme: challenge tradition, "ship" something/fail fast, look at the world through a different lens, world-class customer service, standing out amid the crowd, etc.

Godin, in fact, included a warning of sorts a few chapters into "Linchpin," where he said something like, "if you're feeling like the book is a waste of your time, take a deep breath and fight through and nirvana will await around the corner." So, I fought through to the end.

The problem is I didn't find any tangible rewards around the corner.

A key element of "Linchpin" is the mantra that so-called linchpins are remarkable people who are indispensible. OK, makes sense. But other than stating the obvious -- Godin says anyone who bought the book already is motivated to be a linchpin -- I didn't come away with much substance. I thought, OK, what am I missing here. I finally decided that linchpins wouldn't be conned into thinking a $26 book ($12.99 Kindle) would make them any more special.

It's interesting that Godin recently announced that "Linchpin" was going to be "the last book I publish in a traditional way." Godin made waves by saying he would be steering clear of traditional publishing houses and bookstores and self-publish to his enormous network of subscribers via e-books, which have much higher profit margins.

I found his reasoning behind that decision alone more invigorating than "Linchpin," and it makes me wonder whether Godin realizes ditching a tie to the old world is something he himself needs to energize messages that have become tired.

I would argue, however, that as he heads off into this new stage, he needs a strong editor more than ever, someone who will inspire him to discover new inspiration and not return to the same bag of tricks that has charmed a growing legion of fans one too many times.