Seth Godin's best tactics for building remarkable products, strategies, brands and more

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career ✓ Claim Key Takeaways  A brand is not a logo; it is a promise and what the customer expects from your product The goal is not to make the product perfect for you, it is to delight your customer The key to building a brand: Make a promise and keep it Do not sacrifice your agency over the four most crucial things that you should be choosing: your customers, competition, source of validation, and distributionOn the role of tension in strategy: The customer should consider what their life would be like if your product delivers on what it promises to do “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” – Seth Godin Better waves make better surfers: Much of your success is determined by choosing the wave and not the skills that you have  Professionals do their work in a non-narcissistic way: You can’t paint a picture of where you want to go; instead, you should paint a picture of where theywant to goBe of service to others! “It is very difficult to change what people want, but it is helpful to offer people a chance to get where they always wanted to go in the first place.” – Seth Godin  Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgSeth 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 [email protected].—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe