I recently saw somebody offering week-long management classes in New York City for free. I couldn’t comprehend why somebody would do this, especially in NYC. That pushed me to Google him and that is how I landed in this book — Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

To be sure, I don’t think I have absorbed enough to write a review on this book, as well as I believe oncing over this book is hardly sufficient — I look forward to reading this again, but wanted to give you a quick glimpse before I headed to my next big project.

For the last few years I have been introspecting heavily on several things and this book came to me as though to answer the questions I have. Linchpins is a book of what separates normal people from linchpins. You can be a cog or a linchpin. Entirely your choice. Anybody can be a cog. Everybody can be a linchpin, if we so choose. Cog is the burger-flipper at McDonalds; Linchpin is the receptionist at the White House. Cog looks to somebody handing him a manual that tells him how to do his job, how to continue to get paid, how to not get fired. The linchpin writes that manual and does much more than that.

At several points in the book, you feel as though the author is watching you over your shoulder as you read and he is able to communicate with you and talk to your true self, well crossing the borders of ego. Your ego, that is.

This book is not another book on leadership, doesn’t give an empty promise of “you too can do it”, rather summarizes why you are the way you are and what can make you a linchpin (and the choices you have to make to become one)

I am deliberately not giving away too much from this book — because I sincerely want you (the person reading this blog post) to consider reading this book. This book tells you what it is to become an artist, the importance of giving gifts, the secret of being remarkable and the seven characters of a linchpin.

This book is a must read for anybody looking to establishing themselves apart, in a world that seems to be surrendering itself to McDonaldization.

To pique your curiosity, I will conclude this review with something:

It is a popular belief that people like to be told what to do, people don’t take risks because they dread failure.

The author thinks it is because we dread success.
Sounds crazy? Read the book.