After more than two decades of trailblazing entrepreneurship, 20 best-selling books, one of the world's most popular blogs, and his induction into the Guerrilla Marketing, the Direct Marketing, and the regular Marketing Halls of Fame, Seth Godin is globally renowned for being "the ultimate entrepreneur for the information age." But, first and foremost, Seth is a teacher. He is dedicated to helping millions of intrepid individuals to interact with the world more meaningfully, level up, and make a difference.
In this exciting and broad-ranging conversation, Seth covers the topics of why climate change is a marketing problem, breaking through cultural norms, leadership, empowerment and the pleasures and perils of being a trailblazer. Seth's inspirational truth telling encourages everyone to make the changes they want to see in the world, and gives them the tools they need to do so.
"Yes, I think it's okay to abandon the big, established, stuck tribe. It's okay to say to them, "You're not going where I need to go, and there's no way I'm going to persuade all of you to follow me. So rather than standing here watching the opportunities fade away, I'm heading off. I'm betting some of you, the best of you, will follow me."
SETH GODIN
Trailblazer 04:
SETH GODIN
Entrepreneurship Icon
Global Teacher
Seth Godin is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, speaker, and, above all else, a teacher who gives people the tools they need to make the impactful changes they want to see in the world. By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership, to the spread of ideas, Seth has been able to motivate and inspire countless people around the world. He is a global thought-leader on the post-industrial revolution, how ideas disseminate, marketing, quitting, leadership, and most of all, changing everything including the uneven distribution of food, unequal access to medicine, and our energy system. Seth has famously made the bold statement that climate change is a marketing problem, not a technology problem. His blog on marketing, tribes, and respect was named by Time among its 25 best blogs.
In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, Seth has written 20 best-selling books addressing various aspects of marketing, advertising, business venturing, and leadership, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, and What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn). His books, This is Marketing, was an instant bestseller in countries around the world. Free Prize Inside was a Forbes Business Book of the Year in 2004, while Purple Cow sold over 150,000 copies in more than 23 print runs in its first two years. The Dip was a Business Week and New York Times bestseller; Business Week also named Linchpin among its "20 of the best books by the most influential thinkers in business" on November 13, 2015.
Seth is also known as "the ultimate entrepreneur for the information age". Though renowned for his writing and speaking, he also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne. Yoyodyne, launched in 1995, used contests, online games, and scavenger hunts to market companies to participating users. In August 1996, Flatiron Partners invested $4 million in Yoyodyne in return for a 20% stake. At Yoyodyne, Godin published Permission Marketing: Turning strangers into friends and friends into customers which describes and promotes a non-traditional marketing technique that advertises goods and services when advance consent is given. In 1998, Seth sold Yoyodyne to Yahoo! for about $30 million and became Yahoo's vice president of direct marketing.
In March 2006, Godin launched Squidoo, a revenue-sharing writing site and by July 2008, Squidoo was one of the 500 most visited sites in the world. Godin raised more than $250,000 from readers with a Kickstarter campaign In June 2013, which in turn secured him a book contract with his publisher for his book "The Icarus Deception." He was also one of just three professionals inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame. In an astonishing turn of events, in May 2018, he was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame as well. He might be the only person in both.