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: https://getdx.com/lenny • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny • Paragon—Ship every SaaS integration your customers want: https://www.useparagon.com/lenny 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.