Indispensability

Linchpin

We are often told that being extraordinary makes us special. We each write our own story in life, but as Neil deGrasse Tyson suggests, perhaps the sameness of our cosmic composition is what makes each of us fundamentally special from beginning to end. This eliminates the need for permission and actually invites us all to be remarkable.

The factory, which can be thought of as any existing organization with established systems, relies on profit margins and replaceable cogs that follow instructions to keep the vast machine churning. The factory was designed to maximize productivity during the Industrial Age, but in our connected era, factories are fading. Gone are the days of clocking in on time and keeping your head down just long enough to climb a ladder built to resist change. The factory worker’s willingness to play it safe may extend a sense of security, but this choice makes you easy to replace with cheaper labor, faster tools, and advancing technology.

In 2010, Seth Godin gave those who choose to be indispensable a name: linchpins. Linchpins are artists who go beyond mediocre. Linchpins solve interesting problems and make judgement calls without a map. They welcome weird. They are scientists who stay curious. They are generous and passionate about the art of connection. Through an inclusive, positive-sum lens, linchpins lead and let others lead without seeking credit. They are fearless in that they are unafraid of things they don’t need to be afraid of. Linchpins leave resumes behind by curating a body of work that transcends time. They keep building at the speed of trust and relentlessly #GiveFirst, knowing that accelerating others generates unmatched energy.

Cogs in a machine are replaceable and therefore can be paid less. When you are a linchpin, you leverage your own superpowers and get rewarded for creative expressions that are rooted in lasting purpose. The skills of a linchpin are hard to quantify with traditional metrics, but a willingness to bring your true genius to work is an open invitation. Over time, the linchpin’s art becomes meaningful to many, which makes work less about trading time for money. This also brews a centered state of indispensability, where nobody can compete with being you.

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“Leaders don’t get a map

or a set of rules. Living life

without a map requires a

different attitude. It requires

you to be a linchpin.” –Seth Godin

If indispensability is accessible to anyone, why doesn’t everyone accept the invitation to be wonderfully weird?

One primal reason is the indoctrination of an education system that was designed to produce factory workers. From an early age, we are brainwashed to pursue perfection, to color within the lines, to follow instructions, to care what others think, and to define success by worldly consumption.

Fortunately, progressive teachers are activating modern students to go beyond the system. Instead of molding obedient factory workers who hope to be taken care of by factories built on promises of the past, we can teach people to take initiative. To honestly assess Playforce Principles. To invite doubt and to solve interesting problems while leading with reverse charisma and confident humility.

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What makes you indispensable?

Whether fueling innovative action as an intrapreneur, diversifying your career portfolio with an inventive side hustle, or building as an entrepreneur, we may only live once, and life is too short not to enjoy your work.

Brewed From Within
#38 📖 Leadership

By Ben McDougal, ago

Horizons

While the foreground of daily activity occupies so much attention, our cumulative culture has always looked to the edge for answers. Whether it’s cresting through the clouds on a flight, an inspiring rooftop view, or a simple walk around the neighborhood, we love the view of hope-filled distance. Beyond momentary charm, how can we embrace the edges of any horizon to stay sharp?

Action is obviously required, but staying wild and thinking big takes practice. Being busy can be addictive, and limited resources often make everything feel pressing. The closer the deadline, the more attention it’s given. This means devoted attention needed to analyze our own thoughts can easily be replaced with yet another task. If busy is boss, perhaps it’s time to meditate, to thoughtfully think. This mental exercise nurtures awareness and guides exploration. To avoid exercising in isolation, collide more wild ideas into weird conversations. The edge awaits explorers who have clarity, thanks to honest self-reflection, and then show up geared to get interested.

As boundaries come and go, avoid energy drains, shortcuts, mind-melting media, debt, addiction, and jail. There’s also no need to rush. Skyline views await us all from anywhere.

As boundaries come and go, avoid energy drains, shortcuts, mind-melting media, debt, addiction, and jail. There’s also no need to rush. Skyline views await us all from anywhere, and horizon hunters will remain indispensable. We go beyond the circular talk of brainstorming, and instead, edgecraft ideas into reality. We flirt with action, lean into Playforce Principles, and continue to ship on the timeline of now. As we poke the box, trust takes time to flourish but can be lost in an instant. Those who thrive on the edge adhere to prerequisites but see rules as suggested guidelines, while maintaining an extended range to see momentum that converges toward the next horizon.

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Elevation makes us all feel successful.

This riff is abstract, but the thesis is explicit: Opportunities await leaders who find answers on the edge. It’s also a reminder that one horizon is not the only endpoint.

From the ground, our view to the horizon is three miles. Peering atop the highest observation deck in the United States, humans can see up to 50 miles on a clear day. Each extent is just too cosmic to ever be the same, and gratitude ensures we don’t become numb to the raindrop of time we have.

This awareness creates a capacity to observe, trap, and sequence distant views as we hug curves and find the edges to appreciate all the horizons that keep us wild.

Brewed From Within
#95 📖 Life & Happiness

By Ben McDougal, ago

Real Skills

Talent is natural.
Skills are learned.

Instead of abstracting, even nerfing the value of what makes us indispensable by using terms like soft skills or power skills, “real skills” invite the new reality. Knowledge, action, and persistence are still required, but real skills help us connect, communicate, and collaborate as we pursue peculiar work fueled by significance in our connected era.

As Seth Godin writes about, real skills help students, founders, intrapreneurs, and people-centric organizations activate humans working toward shared understandings. This updated term removes the optional vibes out of subtle superpowers that help us go beyond the status quo. To close his 2023 manifesto for teams, The Song of Significance, Godin shares this working encyclopedia of categorized real skills.

SELF-CONTROL

Adaptability to changing requirements
Agility in the face of unexpected obstacles
Alacrity and the ability to start and stop quickly
Authenticity and consistent behavior
Bouncing back from failure
Coach-ability and the desire to coach others
Collaborative mindset
Compassion for those in need
Competitiveness
Conscientiousness in keeping promises
Customer service passion
Eagerness to learn from criticism
Emotional intelligence
Endurance for the long haul
Enthusiasm for the work
Ethics even when not under scrutiny
Etiquette
Flexibility
Friendliness
Honesty
Living in balance
Managing difficult conversations
Motivated to take on new challenges
Passionate
Posture for forward motion
Purpose
Quick-wittedness
Resilience
Risk-taking
Self-awareness
Self-confidence
Sense of humor
Strategic thinking taking priority over short-term gamesmanship
Stress management
Tolerance of change & uncertainty

PRODUCTIVITY

Attention to detail
Crisis management skills
Decision-making with effectiveness
Delegation for productivity
Diligence and attention to detail
Entrepreneurial thinking and guts
Facilitation of discussion
Goal-setting skills
Innovative problem-solving techniques
Lateral thinking
Lean techniques
Listening skills
Managing up
Meeting hygiene
Planning for projects
Problem-solving
Research skills
Technology savvy
Time management
Troubleshooting

WISDOM

Artistic sense and good taste
Conflict resolution instincts
Creativity in the face of challenges
Critical thinking instead of mere compliance
Dealing with difficult people
Diplomacy in difficult situations
Empathy for customers, co-workers, and vendors
Intercultural competence
Mentoring
Social skills
Supervising with confidence

PERCEPTION

Design thinking
Fashion instinct
Judging people and situations
Mapmaking
Strategic thinking

INFLUENCE

Ability to deliver clear, useful criticism
Assertiveness on behalf of ideas that matter
Body language (reading and delivering)
Charisma and skills to influence others
Clarity in language and vision
Dispute-resolution skills
Giving feedback without ego
Influence
Inspiring to others
Interpersonal skills
Leadership
Negotiation skills
Networking
Persuasive
Presentation skills
Public speaking
Reframing
Selling skills
Storytelling
Talent management
Team building
Writing for impact

What a provoking collection of conversation starters! This encyclopedia is a guiding light for when we are being honest with our own abilities, filling gaps on the team, considering session topics for an event, or working to reform educational curriculum. Special thanks to Seth Godin for granting permission to share these real skills as they were written. Real skills are regularly updated to meet emerging demands as well.

Let’s add inclusivity, curiosity, showing up, content creation, systems thinking, accelerating others through the art of connection, identifying founder-market fit, thinking big, mindfulness, following up, pure wonder, and having fun.

What will you brew into the mix?

Brewed From Within
#13 📖 Entrepreneurship

By Ben McDougal, ago

Uncertainty

Comfort with the unknown is not common. Uncertainty feels heavy when we’re not used to the mental weight. This makes juggling uncertainty a healthy exercise. Start with small things that don’t matter. Let the chef select your dinner, say yes without a plan, or try new ways to stand out at a public event.

What’s the point of such preparation? The freedom to build your own reality requires sacrifice, and the sense of certainty holds us back from where we want to be.

This appears to be dramatic, but when it comes to our work, certainty is often an illusion contrived by the industrial age. The “safe” position in an existing organization is one decision away from a broken promise. The employee’s willingness to play it safe may extend a sense of temporary security, but that choice makes anyone easy to replace with cheaper labor, faster tools, and advancing technology.

Reliable outcomes seem safe, but indispensability thrives when comfort zones are expanded. This does not mean irrational decisions loaded with risk. This is showing up, keeping a promise, and remaining consistent to honor the time we have on stage. It’s feeling what others cannot see. It’s inviting a challenge, gradually leaning into what’s hard, and coordinating momentum, even when uncertainties exist.

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Comfort in the unknown creates space
to see potential cloaked by uncertainty.

As we find rhythm by sequencing simple steps, more complicated moves can be introduced. With practice, contentment combined with confidence will have us dancing with the uncertainties that hold others back.

Brewed From Within
#92 📖 Life & Happiness

By Ben McDougal, ago