2.6 253 G.school #57 b'fast in the park (next week)
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
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SETH GODIN The Zoom stretch
There are a lot of structural reasons why in-person meetings don’t involve a break every 12 minutes. It takes too long to stop and start. But those rules don’t apply to Zoom.
Screens off! Stand up. We’ll be back in 60 seconds.
If it’s not worth coming back, the meeting should have ended already.
If you’re on the call, be on the call, lean in, let’s make something happen.
Or else we’re out of here.
July 27, 2024
2.5 246 What are you doing on Saturday?
Mark 5:36 …don’t be afraid, just believe
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SETH GODIN Important change is systems change
Willpower is overrated.
If you want to eat healthier, don’t work hard to avoid stopping at the cookie jar when you walk into the kitchen. Get rid of the cookie jar.
Systems are long-lasting, widespread and resilient. We can push back on them with effort, but over time, the system usually comes out ahead.
Once we see a system, we can change it.
Fixing the metrics and rewards of public education is more productive than celebrating one teacher who managed to outmaneuver the existing paradigm. And banning gas leaf blowers makes a lot more sense than shaming one landscaper for using them.
July 26, 2024
2.4 267 embrace stress; wait, what?
Matthew 12:30 NIV — “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
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SETH GODIN A bowl of rice
It’s expensive. Hundreds of people were involved in getting you that simple bowl of rice. It involved countless gallons of water, hours of labor, gallons of fuel. A complex supply chain that ensured you got what you needed, in perfect condition, just as you were ready for it.
And it’s cheap. The amount of time the typical person needs to work to earn enough to buy a bowl of rice is lower than it has ever been in history.
It’s tempting to make the rice just a bit cheaper, just a tad more convenient. To pay even less attention so we can get back to whatever it is we were doing.
But it’s useful to realize that we can make the rice far better, and just a little less convenient.
I can make a bowl of rice using brown Nagano Milky-Queen rice from Japan. I can prepare it in a Cuckoo pressurized rice cooker. And I can serve it in a handmade ceramic bowl. All in, perhaps this bowl of rice costs me an extra twenty cents and takes a few minutes longer. And when I eat this bowl of rice, I can pause for a minute and think of all the resources and all the labor that went into bringing it to me.
Better is possible.
JULY 25, 2024
2.3 270 Don't be a snowflake
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
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SETH GODIN The two bicycle errors
Momentum activities like public speaking, board sports and leadership all share an attribute with riding a bicycle: It gets easier when you get good at it.
The first error we often make is believing that someone (even us) will never be good at riding a bike, because riding a bike is so difficult. When we’re not good at it, it’s obvious to everyone.
The second error is coming to the conclusion that people who are good at it are talented, born with the ability to do it. They’re not, they have simply earned a skill that translates into momentum.
There’s a difference between, “This person is a terrible public speaker,” and “this person will never be good at public speaking.”
And there’s a difference between, “They are a great leader,” and “they were born to lead.”
The thing about momentum activities is that we notice them only twice: when people are terrible at them, and when they’re good at it. That includes the person you see in the mirror.
JULY 24, 2024
2.2 267 Step by step (?)
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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SETH GODIN Doing it step by step
I was surprised to discover that for many AI questions, if you add, “please figure this out step by step,” the AI will provide a dramatically more accurate and useful answer. This works on simple questions like, “how many times does the letter ‘r’ appear in the word ‘strawberry'” to much more complex issues.
It probably won’t surprise you to consider that this works even better for people.
When we ask a simple question, we often get an opinion or a memorized answer in return. “Freon gas” is not how a refrigerator works, it’s simply a two-word meme to get us through the question so we can move on. When we prompt a human brain to explain the steps, an entirely different process kicks in.
Thoughtful inquiry, pedagogy and user experience design push us to activate this sort of thinking. Yes, a problem often needs a knee-jerk response. It’s not efficient to perform rote tasks with step-by-step analysis.
When it’s important, though, we often benefit by thinking step by step.
JULY 23, 2024
2.1 263 Noy-rons!
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
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SETH GODIN Patterns and chaos
Finding a pattern that explains events that seem like chaos is a breakthrough. It offers us understanding and a lever we can use to make an impact.
Sometimes, though, the breakthrough lies in understanding that there is no pattern, simply unpredictable noise.
We need effort to find patterns. We need humility to accept the chaos.
JULY 22, 2024
1.7 260 G.school #56 what if this isn't all there is?
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
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SETH GODIN Hungry (vs. not full)
If consumption is the point (the engine of the economy, the focus of our marketing, the driver of our status) then it’s easy to get confused about the difference between something that’s nearly empty (and must be refilled to ensure we keep going) and something that’s not quite full (which means that there’s room for more.)
Keeping something full can be energizing, but it’s not required.
JULY 21, 2024
1.6 258 G.school #55 Is this all there is?
Matthew 12:30 NIV — “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
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SETH GODIN The new reality of old media
Cable TV was a perfect storm. The number of channels that needed old movies and TV series to fill airtime almost exactly matched the number of worthwhile shows that were available.
Which meant that A Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, Seinfeld and MASH could be cornerstones of the culture for decades, not simply a few weeks or months.
A fan could reasonably expect to see them all.
Two things have changed for books, music and visual media:
Shelf space and broadcast schedules disappeared. There’s room for everything, all the time.
The cost of creating and publishing work in any of these media has dropped to zero. When anyone can make a video or a song, anyone will.
The long tail keeps getting longer. Which is fine, except it undermines our expectation that the culture has a center, that the people you’re with have seen and read what you’ve seen and read.
And it shifts the economics as well. Assets aren’t worth what they used to be, and the focus of attention is erratic and unpredictable.
Better is elusive, more is not in short supply and it’s even more of a guessing game than it used to be.
JULY 20, 2024
1.5 263 It's Fri-yeah! wait, what?
Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
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SETH GODIN Retreat!
We’ve managed to lionize, celebrate and elevate the mindset of “CHARGE!”
Even when better judgment and experience would indicate that we’re often more likely to succeed with a strategic re-evaluation of the situation.
Making a new decision based on new information isn’t weakness. In fact, it’s the opposite.
No whimpering required. Retreating with enthusiasm is a sign of wisdom and long-term thinking.
JULY 19, 2024
1.4 264 the power of fictional stories
Matthew 12:30 NIV — “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Seth GODIN Glib
One of the valid complaints about some AI systems is that they make stuff up, with confidence, and without sourcing, and then argue when challenged.
Unsurprisingly, this sounds a lot like people.
We often end up with what we are willing to tolerate.
Show your work and ask for receipts.
JULY 18, 2024
266 1.3 What are you uniquely qualified... for?
James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
268 1.2 The importance of IQ
Matthew 12:30 NIV — “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
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SETH GODIN Bullies
Bullies use intimidation and power to force others to act against their best interests.
Bullies blame the victim, assuring everyone that they wouldn’t have to use force if people would simply go along with what they want. Effective bullies organize a small mob to enforce their wishes.
Living and working with bullies is no fun. And it’s not productive or resilient.
The blame that bullies spread is divisive. As a result, the bully separates the community instead of connecting it, using the power of the mob to harm the outliers.
And a bullied community often cowers in fear instead of leaning into possibility.
Most of all, bullies are weak. They can’t tolerate change and refuse to listen or improve.
Resilient, generative and productive approaches to problems are always a better path forward.
JULY 16, 2024
266 1.1 "We call it Monday morning!"
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Today’s worksheet
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SETH GODIN The page-a-day calendar
Time passes. And humans have always kept track.
Distribution and technology combined to create a few decades where the tear off daily calendar was nearly ubiquitous (read on for details on my new one, a collaboration with Debbie Millman).
First, the industry needed to efficiently produce a block of 365 pages, each being easy to tear off.
And then it needed a culture that would be attracted to a long tail of cartoons, brands, hobbies and personalities.
Finally, publishers would need a nationwide chain of stores to merchandise and promote the perfect gift item for a few weeks of the year, just before New Year’s.
A day-to-day calendar is a lovely gift, even if you’re not stuffing a stocking. It is just frivolous enough, thoughtful enough and specific enough to give the recipient a smile, without incurring too much of an obligation.
The timing for calendars was a miracle. Each year, the new year starts just a week after the biggest gift-giving holiday.
As you can imagine, they sold a lot of calendars.
Now, distribution has changed, and so has tech. People don’t need a calendar to know what day it is, and their desk is a very different place than it was before everything was on a device. The lead time for calendars is still long, but the ability of a nationwide chain to display them isn’t what it used to be.
Not the best time for me to start creating calendars, but that’s okay. Last year’s calendar ended up being the fourth bestselling one the company published, and we’re back this year.
Almost all of the calendars made now sell online, and most of the orders happen months before the holidays. They don’t sell nearly the way they used to, but I still like the way they ground us in the moment.
This year, I created the calendar with my friend Debbie Millman. She’s the original podcaster, a dean at SVA, and a gifted and generous artist.
Here’s the link to check out the calendar.
Debbie has been reading this blog for decades, and she picked some of her favorite riffs, then hand-lettered each on an iPad. It’s already a #1 bestseller in at least one category.
The publisher prints their entire supply all at once and won’t make any more. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Debbie!
JULY 15, 2024
4.7 264 G.school #54 They shot President Trump
Mark 1:15. NIV and saying, “The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
SETH GODIN The distribution of character
Along the way, we have been taught to associate character skills like honesty, rationality, agreeableness, grit and care with surface metrics like wealth or power.
That’s almost certainly incorrect. And if we make assumptions based on vague measures of class, we’re going to get tricked.
In any village, cabal or cadre, you’ll probably see a similar percentage of bad actors. If anything, the fancy people might overindex for selfishness.
Shoplifting is not that different from cheating on your taxes.
JULY 14, 2024
4.6 263 G.school #53 Unclean spirits? (Mark 6:7)
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
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SETH GODIN Giving up vs. quitting
Shrug your shoulders, care less, phone it in.
One software company I used to depend on has sort of given up. They have plenty of cash in the bank, but they simply stopped trying. You can feel it in their updates, their customer service, their approach to the future.
Giving up is a waste.
Quitting, on the other hand, is a fine thing to do. Because quitting gives you tomorrow back. It opens the door for the next contribution you are able to make.
In or out.
The top of the fence is no place to hang out.
JULY 13, 2024
269 4.5 TGIF (! ? !)
James 2:15-17 ESV — If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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SETH GODIN Student coach
Big football at colleges in the US costs more than $5 billion a year. And none of these programs has a student acting as a coach.
The same analysis, at a much smaller scale, applies to school theater directors and producers, conductors of the jazz band or orchestra and even the coach of the chess team.
We learn by doing, not by winning.
What happens if we embrace this and make education about learning? What would happen if the head of the football program simply taught students how to be coaches? Or the head of the music program challenged kids to conduct?
My most important learning experiences in organized schooling came from the random moments when I actually got to organize instead of being organized.
JULY 12, 2024