April 12, 2011

Seth Godin needs no introduction. Nor does his book Poke the Box, the first offering from Godin's new publishing venture with Amazon, The Domino Project.

To be up-front and candid, you will not learn anything new from Poke the Box. At least not from the content. But you will from the context, which is worth its weight in gold. I believe that is Godin's intent. And that's why I'm going to depart (just this once) from the normal Guru Review template I've been using. Allow me to explain.

Poke the Box is, in many ways, a departure in itself. It's a departure from traditional book publishing. It's a departure from traditional book formatting. It's a departure from traditional book length, even from Seth Godin's own short-form tendencies. Godin has poked his own box. And that, more than anything, is what I took away from reading it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

What does it mean to "poke the box?" Godin explains it this way:

"When my cousin was born, my uncle (who has a Ph.D. from MIT) built a buzzer box. It was a heavy metal contraption, with a thick black cord that plugged into the wall. It looked like something from a nuclear power plant, not a kid's toy, but that didn't dissuade him from tossing it in the crib.

The box had two switches, some lights, and few other controls on it. Flip one switch and a light goes on. Flip both switches and a buzzer sounds. All terrifying, of course, unless you are a kid. A kid sees the buzzer box and starts poking it. If I do this, that happens!

Mathematicians call this a function. Put in one variable, get a result. Call and response.

Life is a buzzer box. Poke it."

That is, in a nutshell, the essence of what is really an 80-page manifesto on initiative; urging us, to get started. It's not a how-to; it's more of a Nike-esque prod to "Just Do It!" with just enough "why to" thrown in to stimulate both sides of the brain.

Godin tells us that there are seven imperatives to making something happen:

• Be aware—of the market, of opportunities, of who you are

• Be educated, so you can understand what's around you

• Be connected, so you can be trusted as you engage

• Be consistent, so the system knows what to expect

• Build an asset, so you have something to sell

• Be productive, so you can be well-priced

• Have the guts and the heart and the passion to ship

Poke the Box focuses on the seventh imperative, because you can do the first six and still get stuck. Godin's message is a clarion call to, in a single word, "GO!"

Which brings me back to what Poke the Box really is: the first thing to ship from The Domino Project. I believe The Domino Project is a sign of things to come in publishing: shorter form, digital-first, direct-to-reader books at a fraction of the typical purchase price of traditionally-produced books. Publishers are struggling to carve out a meaningful value proposition. Seth Godin, realizing this and having the first six imperatives nailed down, decided to practice what he preaches. More power to him, because he's reshaping an industry.

The Domino Project is progressive, different and, thus, risky. (It's far less risky for someone with Godin's platform and pull, however.) The Domino Project is, as the website states, "named after the domino effect—one powerful idea spreads down the line, pushing from person to person. The Project represents a fundamental shift in the way books (and digital media based on books) have always been published. Eventually consisting of a small cadre of stellar authors, this is a publishing house organized around a new distribution channel, one that wasn’t even a fantasy when most publishers began."

The core tenets of The Domino Project are a primer on how to poke the box:

• Exceptionally high quality ideas, created without regard for what bookstores and middlemen want

• Ideas packaged with cogency and urgency in mind, not a word wasted, no filler

• Permission at the heart of the model. Ideas for our readers, not more readers for our ideas

• Virality first. An idea that requires a direct sale won’t thrive in a world where the most powerful ideas spread from hand to hand. Create content that works best when spread, and then package it so it’s easy to spread

• Reward the sneezers who stand up and spread these ideas

• No patience for obsolete institutions. Bestseller lists are not worth compromising for

• Speed triumphs. Rapid time to market, rapid evolution, rapid response to reader feedback

• Format agnostic. Kindle, audiobook, paperback, collectible… all good

• Different products for different customers. A variety of price points and formats to match audience desires

I don't think you can, or should, separate Poke the Box from The Domino Project. The book sends an urgent message; the project shows you how to turn the idea into action.

For all these reasons, I highly recommend Poke the Box, and because all of us need a little push, a little inspiration from others (even if we're not really stuck) from time to time, if only to boost our belief a bit.

Invest the hour it takes to digest the book, and I can promise you that you have one or more of the following experiences: 1) it will be a wake-up call; 2) it will be a call to action; and 3) it will be a confirmation of your current course of action.

And all three are worth more than an hour of your time. 

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• Innovation

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