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. Sponsors: Cresset prestigious family office for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: https://cressetcapital.com/tim (book a call today) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim (one-dollar-per-month trial period) *** Links to everything discussed: https://tim.blog/2025/01/30/seth-godin-strategy/ 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. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [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.

Seth GodinguestTim Ferrisshost

Jan 29, 20251h 50mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: January 29, 2025
Duration: 1h 50m
Channel: Tim Ferriss
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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. Sponsors: Cresset prestigious family office for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: https://cressetcapital.com/tim (book a call today) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim (one-dollar-per-month trial period) *** Links to everything discussed: https://tim.blog/2025/01/30/seth-godin-strategy/ 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. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [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.

SPEAKERS

Seth Godin
guest
Author and marketing strategist known for books and essays on leadership, marketing, and strategy, and for his long-running blog at seth.blog.
Tim Ferriss
host
Podcast host and author, known for interviewing high performers on The Tim Ferriss Show and publishing show notes at tim.blog/podcast.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Tim Ferriss, featuring Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin — This is Strategy explores seth Godin reframes strategy as systems, time, games, and empathy Seth Godin defines strategy as a durable philosophy of becoming—clarifying the change you seek, the people you seek to change, and the systems and games involved—while allowing tactics to evolve.

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