Seth Godin — This is Strategy

Seth Godin is the author of 21 internationally bestselling books, translated into more than 35 languages, including Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow. His latest book is This Is Strategy.

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Links to everything discussed: https://tim.blog/2025/01/30/seth-godi...

Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running.

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[00:00] Start
[00:29] A home run for Seth?
[00:54] What the word “strategy” means to Seth.
[03:04] Real-world examples of good business strategies.
[06:11] The core ingredients of enacting a successful strategy.
[07:00] Systems.
[13:52] Time.
[18:02] Games.
[22:28] Empathy.
[27:00] Don’t try to burn big logs if you only have a little bit of kindling.
[29:07] Systems don’t start out selfish, but resilient ones often end up that way.
[34:45] Shortcut shortcomings.
[37:32] Feedback loops.
[39:57] The network effect.
[46:32] Tension.
[48:01] Affiliation status.
[55:07] How early successes make later successes more likely.
[01:00:31] Volunteer firemen.
[01:01:31] Expanding the circle of now and circle of us.
[01:04:05] Freedom from the feeling of fear.
[01:05:26] Picking customers and competitors.
[01:08:51] Guaranteeing attendance while building community.
[01:15:23] Community leadership.
[01:22:05] Perspective-changing exercises and scaffolding.
[01:27:00] The Strategy Deck.
[01:29:51] Good decisions vs. good outcomes.
[01:32:28] How Seth avoids false proxies in the hiring process.
[01:36:57] Gauging acceptance of feedback.
[01:40:15] How Seth uses AI.
[01:45:15] Enshittification.
[01:47:32] Parting thoughts.