272: Seth Godin on Publishing Strategy, Missed Opportunities, Sunk Costs, Social Media, and Smart Risks

“How do you decide who has the power to judge you? Who are you seeking to please? Is that validation directly in alignment with how you are rewarded and how you're organized?”

Seth Godin is back with a brand new book, This Is Strategy: Make Better Plans, and if you loved Free Time, I know you will love this one for geeking out on systems thinking!

We discuss how his author strategy has shifted over time, why he’s piloting a new type of publishing contract with this book, how he felt when asked to leave a weekly poker game for not taking big enough risks, and how The Innovator’s Dilemma relates to companies like Google, NPR, and Netflix (he was in the room as NPR purposefully missed the boat on podcasting).

More About Seth: Seth Godin is a renowned author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert who has profoundly influenced modern business thinking through his blog, with over 9,000 daily posts and counting. Known for his innovative ideas on marketing, leadership, and personal growth, Godin has authored 22 bestselling books in over 39 languages. He is also the coordinator of The Carbon Almanac, which he calls “the most important project of my career.”

🌟 5 Key Takeaways from This is Strategy

• Social media: Avoid projects where the system is organized to take all the value you create.

• Building community: Create a strategy where the scale is the magic. Start by serving a small group of people who would miss us if we didn't exist.

• Pricing: Price is a story, a signal, and a symptom of your strategy. “Low price is the last refuge of a marketer who has run out of useful ideas."

• Decision-making: It's impossible to consistently have perfect outcomes. It's easier to imagine that we're able to make good decisions on a regular basis.

• Ignoring sunk costs: All of your assets and experiences are a gift from your former self. You're welcome to leave them behind.

📝 Permission

Stop seeking authority and start taking responsibility. Time is ours; sooner or later, the story we tell ourselves belongs to us. That doesn't mean it's easy. It just means that given the situation you're in, you could make something better and no one can stop you.

✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next

If you feel creatively stagnant, try switching up your environment. For example, Seth took train rides with no destination in mind to get into a writing groove. Bonus: Try asking Claude.ai to expand on a list or framework you’ve created. What might you be missing?

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Seth on the web

• New Book: This Is Strategy

• Community: Purple.space

• Udemy course: This Is Strategy

• Publisher: Authors Equity

• Seth's articles: Books don’t sell and Firing the New York Times Bestseller List

• Rolling in Doh: Is Kevin Bacon in His Flop Era?

• 🚬 Smoking is Essential for Your Success, They Said 🙄

• If Your Business Could Talk, What Would It Say?

• People: Shawn Coyne of Story Grid

• Tools: Claude.ai

📚 Books Mentioned

• This Is Strategy

• Song of Significance

• The Practice: Shipping Creative Work

• Visit the shop to see all of Seth’s books . . .

• Your First 1,000 Copies

• The Innovator’s Dilemma

• Atomic Habits

• Thinking in Systems

• Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business

• Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

• Life After College

🎧 Related Episodes

• Seth’s podcast: Akimbo

• Free Time: 092: Train the System, Then the Person

• 056: Set Your Compass—Systems vs. Goals

• 268: Strategies for Surpassing “The Magic Number” of Book Sales, and 271: Todd Sattersten Part Two

• Pivot: 254: The Practice—On Generosity, Peculiarity, and Showing Up with Seth Godin

🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review

✍️ Check out Jenny’s personal business essays on Substack, Rolling in D🤦🏻‍♀️h

💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter for access to the Free Time Toolkit

📝 Check out full show notes and share with friends: https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/272