Poster Series: Ship

by kjbake01

Poster series #2!

I’m a fan, curator, and promoter of Beautiful Ideas. I’ve begun to encapsulate many of them in posters that I envision hanging in the offices and “war rooms” of the people and organizations that share my convictions.

Some of you (who haven’t Linchpin) are wondering What does a boat have to do with anything?

Noted author Seth Godin coined the term- and what he means by it is: PRODUCE!   As a result of his books selling millions of copies, and his successful meetups, there’s a whole generation of entrepreneurial folk out there working to ship every day.  “What do I need to do today to get my product in the hands of my customer?”- for me this means both literally printing and shipping posters, and writing when I don’t feel like writing.   Not getting it mostly done, Not dreaming up a new product, but getting it out the door.

While this may sound similar to what my grandfather would have told me (“put your time in,” “work hard,” “pay your dues”); there is a significant difference between Seth Godin’s mantra and WWII era advice. That difference is in the locus of control.   Just doing what you’re told, or successfully filling out your assigned job description won’t make you a linchpin.  For the purposes of this poster, I suppose  SHIP. could mean to produce within your assigned role in an organization, and I think most of us could use the reminder from time to time, but Seth’s point is different.  Seth’s point is that you need to run your career as if you own it. That may mean contributing to your organization like you own it: with the accompanying responsibility, overachievement, floor-sweeping, late-night, do-it-again-until-its-right kind of way.  This is different than how my grandfather succeeded in the upwardly mobile hierarchy he worked in.

More likely, it means you need to view your “job” as a client. Produce for them, produce for others. Blow them away with how you produce.  Challenge them with new ideas for products or services- but not in a armchair-business-analyst way. In a “here’s-a-prototype-and-a-business-plan” kind of way.  Keep your eyes open for new clients, do great and honorable work.

But for crying out loud: Ship.

Sweeten the deal: The poster itself is available for $10 + shipping via Etsy.  However, If you subscribe via email in the next 7 days, I’ll email you the pdf for free.