I finished The Song of Significance by Seth Godin a few weeks ago after Ma.tt sent a treasure trove of books to me after I asked him for a sabbatical recommendation (he sent 8 books so this is 2/8 write ups). Just as I went to write down thoughts the layoffs happened and my attention shifted. I’m returning to write about the book again with some even fresher humility as a result. Overall, I found the book to feel almost at the level of common sense and realized upon reflection that’s likely due to a combination of the intentionality of Automattic and my generation coming up into the workforce with our own experiences, desires, aims, etc. I finished the book wanting to have a deeper conversation about it, feeling like it was just a spark of inspiration rather than a well to draw upon.
In asking ten thousand people in 90 countries to describe the conditions at the best job they had, Seth shared that the top four items overwhelmingly were:
- I surprised myself with what I could accomplish.
- I could work independently.
- The team built something important.
- People treated me with respect.
All of this resonates as something I’ve (mostly) had for many years now and something I have missed in stepping away from contributing to the WordPress open source project (“the team built something important”).
“I’ll work tirelessly to make sure you’re a part of a team of people who are ready to care as much as you do.”
Song of Significance by Seth Godin
This is everything to me. I had a soccer coach tell me once when I played on an incredibly apathetic team, “Anne, you can’t make people care as much as you do.” It didn’t stop me from trying and, to this day, I don’t know whether she’s right or wrong. What I do know is that there’s nothing better than being on a team of people who all care. Care about showing up for each other, about their craft, about giving feedback, about hearing many points of view, about including and uplifting people, etc.
In another part of the book, he talks about “the pre mortem and the rave”. I have heard of pre mortems before (love asking “if this were to fail in 6 months, why do you think it would?”) but I hadn’t heard of the idea of “the rave”. What’s the best feedback we could possibly receive? What do they say when we’ve succeeded? Who do we empower?
With team functioning, Seth shared another story around Kinkos and how Paul Orfalea would walk into a store and ask someone working there about an innovation they recently implemented to then tell other stores about it. On the flip side, he told another story about Harry Acker calling up every store every day and asking “What’s wrong?” before fixing the problem. These are simplistic vignettes but they reflect staying close to the work and, the more I work, the more I’m protective of my time that keeps me close to those actually building sites to tell their story, sell their creative work, build big businesses, break a story, etc.
“Significant work requires us to make commitments and to keep them. To create change. To explore the liminal space on our way from here to there. This is difficult, and when the song of safety is hard to hear, it can be challenging to move forward.”
Song of Significance by Seth Godin
Doing what you say you will and being vulnerable enough to try is a beautiful thing.
“Safety is first. It’s impossible to grow, to connect, or to lead if we are under threat or feel the ground shifting beneath us…If anything but HERE is seen as incorrect, dangerous, or momentary, it’s difficult to build an organization set on significance. Because significant organizations spend most of their time and energy not being where they were yesterday. In fact, the uncertainty and dislocation are the point, not a temporary inconvenience.”
Song of Significance by Seth Godin
Oof yes. I wonder and worry about this when I return from sabbatical. What safety do I need? What can I create for others? What can I do for those who have left Automattic and have found the ground literally shift?
“And the companion to taking responsibility is relentlessly giving away credit. When we offer others a chance to shine, they’re more likely to connect, to enroll in this journey, and to join in the next chance they have to do so.”
Song of Significance by Seth Godin
An always important reminder to keep close. It’s something I love about the WordPress open source project as it’s normal and expected to credit those who helped.
“When we do the work when the boss isn’t looking, we’re adhering to standards. But if our behavior changes when we’re under surveillance, that’s simply because we’ve been harassed into tolerating the performance of obedience. Obedience is about the passion or power of the manager. Standards revolve around the values of the institution…In a significant organization, though, each person is a vital component, adding human insight, care, and commitment to the work at hand. In this environment, there’s no room for someone who is simply compliant.”
Song of Significance by Seth Godin
This reminds me a lot of the Anson Dorrance quote that has alway stuck with me: “The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is watching.” The latter quote by Anson feels more to the heart of it: create conditions for champions to do what they do best, whether someone is watching or not. Working remotely for so long, I forget that I’m technically “alone” day in and day out until I talk to someone who says they could never work remotely. They need the external pressure.
At some point, Seth goes into zoom meetings and how they are “only meetings in the worst sense” describing how it’s more of a lecture with a Q&A than a true meeting. This is an alarming trend I’ve noticed in the last few years. I have hallway hangouts recorded on YouTube where I’m simply presenting information to a listening audience and I have some hallway hangouts that are actually discussions. The difference? How I set the stage, who showed up, and what space I gave. I hope I increasingly have less and less “lecture” meetings. Sadly, when I’ve checked with folks who have done the lecturing around how a meeting went, the refrain is usually, “No one else spoke up! This was so frustrating. I wanted it to be a conversation.” Intention goes a long way if that’s what one wants.
I’m glad I read this in the latter half of my sabbatical as I start to warm up some work muscles and think about a new role I’ll be stepping directly into when I return.
agm 
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