Survival is Not Enough : Zooming, Evolution, and the Future of Your Company

Rating:
Summary: Has some interesting ideas..
Review: Has some interesting ideas. I don't know how much of it can actually be implemented, however. Just because there's chaos around you doesn't mean you have to live/work in chaos. Remember the hare and the turtouise fable?

Rating:
Summary: Another Godin Book - Another winner!
Review: I gave this book 4 stars because, while it was refreshing to read and I definitely learned quite a bit, it wasn't a paradigm-shifting book, which is what I am increasingly moving towards for my 5 star books.

I warn folks that don't like buzzwords that this book has TONS of them. Frankly, there were more than I care for and I normally don't mind them!

Mr. Godin consistently picks a topic of business conversation/interest and then provides readers with his insights. In Permission Marketing he spoke about the rampant increase in e-mail marketing campaigns and what made them effective vs. ineffective and the impact it would have on consumer/business relations. In Unleashing the Ideavirus Mr. Godin spoke about the power of word of mouth advertising and how companies could utilize the Internet as an enabling device to cost effectively communicate with customers and generate excitement in a product/service.

Survival is Not Enough, by Seth Godin, is another bestseller in the works. For some reason Mr. Godin seems to get the "big picture" better than most. More importantly, the manner in which he conveys the information / subject manner is normally easier to understand than other books on comparable subject matter. With his new book Mr. Godin tackles the subject of rapid change and its impact on business. Using the metaphor of Darwin's Law of Evolution Mr. Godin compares a corporation's evolution to any animal.

The entire book can be summed up in a very simple manner. Evolve (change) or die. The fittest company will win at the end of the day such as the fiercest Lion will end up passing on his genes to other lions.

Rather than spell out each chapter I would say that Mr. Godin hits on several key things within the book that really make it worth reading

1)Why it is better to make small changes than big changes to survive (EVOLVE vs. massive restructuring).

2)How can a company accelerate changes so it doesn't become static and die?

3)Why you need to make sure you have the right people on board.

4)How do people deal with fear and change? What are some of the artificial barriers we as humans put up to avoid change? I found some of the insights to be interesting.

5)Are all companies capable of change? Obviously a lot don't (they become extinct via bankruptcy) but did they miss along the way which hurt the company (examples are provided.)

Mr. Godin's last chapter gives a long list of important questions that deal with change. Through asking them and honestly answering them you may find some insightful things about your companies' culture and the implications for your career development, as well as their future success. In general I found the book to be very insightful but much tougher than his previous books to read. This is heady stuff, relative to his prior books, especially when you have to compare the entire book to Darwin and Evolution!

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable...
Review: I really enjoyed Seth Godin's Permission Marketing so I had high expectations of Survival is Not Enough and I must say that my expectations were easily met.

I read the book cover to cover in one day and found that Seth's insights were not only meaningful but inspirational.
Any person managing people or thinking of starting a company should invest in reading this book. It will definitely change the way you see the role of people in your company and how companies hold on to survival for dear life rather then embracing change to continue and succeed and as we're shown time and time again "Survival is Not Enough"

Rating:
Summary: Godin does it again
Review: I'll admit that I was excited when I first opened Seth Godin's new book. I loved Permission MArketing and I thought that the Fez book was terrific as well.

SURVIVAL does not disappoint.

In a brilliant use of evolutionary biology, Godin forces us to look at a business in a brand new way. This book has dramatically changed the way I look at my job, my company and my career.

I've read it twice and bought copies for all my co-workers. It's that good... the best book of the year! (so far.)

Rating:
Summary: Godin does it again!
Review: In his follow-up to the popular e-book Unleashing the Ideavirus, marketing guru Seth Godin uses Darwin's theory of evolution as an extended metaphor for how companies have to constantly change in order to adapt to unstable economic environments. Survival Is Not Enough: Zooming Evolution, and the Future of Your Company maintains that in these uncertain times, business owners have to constantly tinker with their marketing, products, and personnel, even if they've already discovered some successful strategies. While he lays the metaphors on a little thick, Godin's otherwise clear, crackling prose and real-life examples make the book an engaging read.