I started my first real business in 1976, when I was sixteen. I ran a large student-run business in
college. Went to business school in 1982 and started my first job in 1983.
Along the way, twenty seven years into this thing they call my career, I’ve figured out that there
are three kinds of people:
Linchpins
Supporters
Leeches, Advocates for the Devil, and Bystanders (aka people in a pre-linchpin state)
I lump the last three together as one kind, because I don’t think they deserve categories of their
own. Even though they’re the majority in terms of numbers, they don’t matter so much in terms
of getting things done.
The first group, the Linchpins, are the people who make a difference, the ones that ship, the rare
ones that truly have an impact. This group of people, in that moment of time, change
everything.
The second group, the Supporters, are eager and willing to help. They respect and admire the
work the linchpin is doing, and they’re ready to supply leverage or money or just a smile to help
get the job done. Even better, they challenge the linchpin to do more, dig deeper and make an even bigger difference.
The third group, as you’ve probably guessed, are the pessimists, the obstructionists and the
protectors of the status quo. Driven largely by fear, they set out to slow you down, whittle you
down and average you down. Mostly, it’s not their fault, though, because they’ve been
brainwashed and don’t yet realized how powerful and productive it is to take a different route.
It’s tempting to call these people out by name and to demonstrate how their fear is robbing so
many people of a chance to make a difference. I won’t, though, because it’s not productive.
People don’t end up in this third group because they choose to be there… they end up here
because the lizard brain is so freaked out and the resistance is so loud that they really don’t have
any choice.
What I do is mentally affix a red “L” (for leech) to their forehead and then, for as long as I can,
avoid them. Like a pothole in an otherwise smooth road, it’s just easier to drive around them.
At the same time, I feel sorry for them. They are in this group because of fear, not by choice.
They wrestle every day with overwhelming feelings of impending doom. Fortunately, it’s not a
permanent condition.
• • •
The opportunities to make change are bigger and more attractive than ever before. Our leverage
is more easily available, cheaper and more powerful too.
Our job as linchpins, then, is to lead the way, to organize and connect people so they can overcome the resistance and actually do something with the huge advantages our society has
given us. If you’re reading this on a Kindle or a laptop or an iPhone, it’s pretty clear that you’re
literate, intelligent and by almost any measure, rich.
What are you going to do with that headstart?