AdAge Go Sit in the Corner!

A little ranting here - on behalf of those professionals who actually want to excel at what they do, including marketing.

A friend (member of our board - Jennifer Young) sent me a note about AdAge doing a scathing review of Seth Godin's new book, not out yet but many of us have advance proofs, in which they essentially said,"..."The Dip" is little more than hollow self-motivation pap, the sort of stuff that late-life losers spend hundreds of dollars on at seminars across the country in some desperate hope to pull their lives together. I'd say "The Dip" reads like a bunch of disjointed blog posts, but that would be an insult to the hundreds of bloggers out there crafting thoughtful, insightful essays about business."

Wow! Ken Wheaton and Matt Kinsley sound like two guys who still need Mommy to hold their hand when they cross the street! They were looking through The Dip (which takes italics, guys, NOT quotation marks), as if it's the Holy Grail or something. Exactly the kind of thing folks who don't want to do the work of learning how to accomplish a goal react when someone of some expertise says, "Just go do it."

I am not a huge fan of Seth Godin. I'm a fan, just not a huge fan. I am a huge fan of his writings, however. And, this particular book hits the proverbial nail right on the head! It's a, "Just go do it," kind of book. It includes advice on when NOT to keep doing it - because you're roaming around a circle that never ends. In fact, to quote from the book,"Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other."

Matt and Ken want the 'secret' of what's the right stuff and what's the wrong stuff. They accuse the publishing industry of "slobbering" over writers like Seth, as if he's the greatest writer out there - when the reality is: the world likes Seth, so, of course the publishing industry is going to like him. It's never the writer, it's the audience. As long as smart people keep reading Seth, they'll keep publishing him. And, for the not-so smart readers who read him and think he's an overwinded blowhard, so be it. You're entitled to your opinion. Go read some pop psychology, if it will make you feel better.

Here's the scoop, folks. There are no answers. There certainly are no EASY answers. The advice to "Just go do it" is the best you'll ever get. If Seth had outlined everything step you need to take to build a world class organization, he would fail you miserably. It's NOT FOR HIM TO SAY what YOU should do. It's for YOU to figure out.

The book the AdAge boys tout, I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!: Daily Affirmations By Stuart Smalley sounds like Pop Psychology to me- real drivel, if you will. (no, I haven't read it - sounds too mamby-pamby for me.)

IF you don't know when to quit, you're NOT good enough. If you don't have a clue about when to persevere and when to pack up and move on, you're NOT smart enough. And, I don't really care if people like you. People liked Ted Bundy and Aaron Burr, and the Mayflower Madam - so what? Doggone it, does that make them worth paying attention to?

Here's the fundamental truth - as Lee Thayer would say, "If you want to be a success - don't fail."

Simple as that. The Dip outlines exact moments that you might want to be thoughtful about moving forward or quitting. Because sometimes - you're better off saying, "This isn't working. Let's do something else." And, it all happens in just under 80 pages. Ken's and Matt's author takes 352 pages, bent on convincing you... that good enough is good enough.

Let me think: in my time-strapped life which book do I want to read on the plane that will help me make a success of my business? And, as a leader, is it my role to recognize the right time to quit, or to motivate my partners and workers to be happy because they're good enough, smart enough, and people like them?

In the end, I want to be the BEST - not good enough. I don't much care if people like me - hard choices are seldom popular. As Seth says: "In a free market, we reward exceptional." As Lee Thayer says, "High-performance: hard. Mediocrity: easy."

Are you getting the message? Read The Dip. And then, read Lee's book, How Executives Fail: 25 Surefire Recipes for Sabotaging Your Career.

If you know Matt and Ken, send them a copy.

Comments

[Rebecca]

Taking it a little too personally Denis? Yikes.

[Yvonne DiVita]

Hi Rebecca, thanks for stopping by and joining our conversation. Too personal you say? Denis, you say? I wrote that post - this is Yvonne (see footer on the post) and... maybe I was getting personal. I think it's quite personal to compare a book about excellence with a book about pop psychology. Pop psychology never a high performance organization made. But, that's JMHO.

Love to hear yours... beyond the thought that it's personal.

[Rebecca]

My apologies, Bloglines referenced "by Denis Caysinger" in the feed. I think the RAMA blog should be above attacking the personal opinion of another writer or writers. Just give us YOUR opinion instead of injecting kindergarten-prone phrases like "two guys who still need Mommy to hold their hand when they cross the street!"

And honestly, are you really getting bent out of shape over a book inspired by a recurring skit on SNL?

Why don't the authors of this blog talk about something much more interesting... like their opinions of the Google/Doubleclick deal, Yahoo/Right Media, etc. and how it's affecting marketers in Rochester. I was once a member of RAMA, but I got so little out of it that it wasn't worth my money. Prove to me that I was wrong!

Thanks for your time.

[Yvonne DiVita]

Hey Rebecca, I like the way you think (albeit, we don't agree on the book thing). I challenge myself, and the other writers of this blog, to start paying attention to more important matters...such as the Google/DoubleClick deal and such. BTW, what do YOU think about it?

I'm disappointed you aren't a member of RAMA anymore. Would LOVE to have you back - we need great people like you to speak up and make sure we give Rochester value.

I'll try and get more relevant content for you and our other members. If you'll keep pushing us to provide it - that would help my cause a whole lot!

[Mark Frisk]

Yvonne:

Stuart Smalley is a character that Al Franken created for Saturday Night Live. The Daily Affirmations book is a humor title.

I also did not care much for the Ad Age review, but I need to point out that Ken Wheaton was not touting the Stuart Smalley book so much as damning Seth's book by way of saying that Al Franken's joke book has more going for it.

Kind of mean-spirited, frankly.

[Yvonne DiVita]

Hi Mark, so how have you been? Ready to blog, yet?

Thanks for setting me straight. Come's from my status as a non-SNL viewer. Yep, that's me. The only living person who's NEVER watched SNL. I've seen bits and pieces on commercials, but...I have never watched a whole program, nor do I care to.

I hope you'll forgive me if I also admit I don't know who Al Franken is??? Oh well.

Glad you wrote in. See you at the next RAMA event...I hope.