Seth Godin's best tactics for building remarkable products, strategies, brands and more
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Promises and Progress: The Journey of Creation
This chapter emphasizes the significance of ambitious promises in branding and the impact of delivering on them, using examples of AI tools Claude and ChatGPT. It also explores the speaker's writing journey, their mindset transformation, and the introduction of a new book, 'This is Strategy.'
Seth Godin is a legend. He’s a marketer, teacher, entrepreneur, and author of more than 20 books, including Purple Cow, Permission Marketing, and Linchpin. He also writes one of the most popular and longest-running blogs in the world (approaching publishing 10,000 in a row!) and continues to shape how we think about marketing, brand, product, and creating lasting change in the world. In our conversation, we discuss:
• How to build remarkable products that spread
• The four critical strategic choices that determine your future
• How to develop good taste and high standards
• The role of tension in great strategy
• How Seth used Claude to write his newest book
• Much more
—
Brought to you by:
• DX—A platform for measuring and improving developer productivity
• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security
• Paragon—Ship every SaaS integration your customers want
—
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/seth-godins-tactics-for-building-remarkable-products
—
Where to find Seth Godin:
• Blog: http://seths.blog/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethgodin
• Website: https://www.sethgodin.com
—
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
—
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Seth’s background
(05:17) Understanding good taste and upholding high standards
(08:09) Become the best at whatever you do
(09:48) Seth’s journey as a product manager
(14:09) What people often get wrong when building products
(16:00) Building a brand in the age of AI
(19:04) Using AI to enhance writing
(22:40) Four critical elements for an effective strategy
(27:38) The role of tension in strategy
(29:15) The concept of the purple cow
(33:11) "Safe is risky"
(34:56) The power of systems
(37:07) Better waves make better surfers
(38:10) Rebranding vs. re-logoing
(43:07) Empathetic leadership
(44:14) Conclusion and farewell
—
Referenced:
• Seth Godin on the Tim Ferriss Show: https://tim.blog/2024/03/20/seth-godin-3/
• Persuasive communication and managing up | Wes Kao (Maven, Seth Godin, Section4): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/persuasive-communication-wes-kao
• Spinnaker: https://spinnaker.io
• Ray Bradbury: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury
• Arthur C. Clarke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke
• Isaac Asimov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov
• Roger Zelazny: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Zelazny
• Herbie Hancock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Hancock
• Fahrenheit 451 (game): https://www.filfre.net/2013/09/fahrenheit-451-the-game/
• RTFM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTFM#
• Intercom: https://www.intercom.com
• Claude: https://claude.ai
• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com
• Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com
• Steam: https://store.steampowered.com
• P.F. Flyers: https://pfflyers.com
• Steve Blank’s website: https://steveblank.com
• Marissa Mayer on X: https://x.com/marissamayer
• Jaguar unveils new logo ahead of electric relaunch: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgr0pw00n7qo
• IHOP Becomes IHOb, the International House of ... Burgers: https://www.npr.org/2018/06/11/618844977/ihop-becomes-ihob-the-international-house-of-burgers
• Oreo’s Super Bowl Power-Outage Tweet Was 18 Months in the Making: https://www.businessinsider.com/oreos-super-bowl-power-outage-tweet-was-18-months-in-the-making-2013-3
• Tesla’s New ‘Ludicrous Mode’ Makes the Model S a Supercar: https://www.wired.com/2015/07/teslas-new-ludicrous-mode-makes-model-s-supercar
—
Recommended books:
• This Is Strategy: Make Better Plans (Create a Strategy to Elevate Your Career, Community & Life): https://www.amazon.com/This-Strategy-Better-Elevate-Community/dp/B0D47T8S7N• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable: https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Cow-New-Transform-Remarkable/dp/1591843170
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
The AI-powered Podcast Player
