The Icarus Deception - Seth Godin

The Icarus Deception

By Seth Godin

  • Release Date: 2012-12-31
  • Genre: Management & Leadership
Score: 3.5
3.5
From 52 Ratings

Description

In Seth Godin’s most inspiring book, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of art
Everyone knows that Icarus’s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldn’t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success?

But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe.

The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isn’t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It’s an attitude we can all adopt. It’s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things you’re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.

Godin shows us how it’s possible and convinces us why it’s essential.

Reviews

  • Repetition

    1
    By MB12706
    The test of a good business book, in my opinion, is: did you get one good idea out of it? This book has nothing. His basic message is that the world has changed and that you will only be successful if you adapt your behavior to this new reality. He repeats and restates this roughly 500 times over the course of the book. There is no data. His conclusions derive wholly from supposition and cursory observation. To be fair, the content of this book would probably make great tv interview content or even a medium length HBR article. It is not enough for a 256 page book.
  • I Dare You

    5
    By Paully Vegas
    Read it, and do something. Make, write, question, dare to feel, taste, cook up, shake up, ..something. One thing. We need you to be you and do you for you, and us. High-5 to Seth for Icarus, and high-5 to you if you read it too. It'll make you think. It'll make you scribble, underline, wonder, and feel what you felt as a kid when you still dreamed, dared, did, and beat to your own unique drum.
  • Pre-review rating

    5
    By mobillionaire
    Awesome