I have a great deal of respect for the work Seth Godin does, and it's not hard to maintain when he continues to produce such interesting, useful, people-oriented and change-making initiatives. Poke the Box is the most recent, and paired with the Domino Project, I consider it the most impressive.I feel this way not because the content is all that different or more extensive -- it's not. Anyone who has read Linchpin and Tribes will find Poke the Box deliciously familiar, yet still new and very pointed. Poke the Box is better because the content is far more concise than previous books, and Seth has used it to zoom in on a facet of Linchpin that absolutely had to be discussed further: Initiative.The Linchpin release had us brainstorming ways to get people interested in reading a 245-page book because we knew it would change their work forever. But Poke the Box tops out at 85 pages... and its execution is far more focused than Linchpin's was. To someone daunted by pages, Poke the Box is almost a no-brainer. Yes, it's a different product. But for someone who has long elevated the values Linchpin promotes, for someone who wants this material to spread to as many people as possible, Poke the Box is the perfect catalyst.If you haven't read Seth Godin before, or if you've read everything he's written -- read this book now. It will make a difference.A few of my favorite bits:Make your schedule before you start, and don't be derailed. For those of us who work for ourselves, this is an interesting trap! We work for ourselves because we want creative flexibility, and while that flexibility can produce amazing results, it can also trip us up if we're not careful. You must always show up, you must always work hard, and you must never allow yourself excuses that put you off schedule. We've all done it -- and we all know that we can do better. (More on page 19.)It's hard to find smart people willing to start useful projects. Not only does that make it easier to get over the hump and start something exciting -- there's so little competition! -- but you can draw your confidence from the realization that not everyone can bring themselves to do what you do. If everyone else is afraid, but you push through, you're a superhero. (More on page 28.)It's scary to try something new. Failure is always hovering nearby, taunting us and turning us away. But the hardest part of doing great work is entertaining that very first failure. Once you get through that, you can get on to the next attempt. The more failures you experience, the closer you are to success -- no matter how you define it. (More on page 42.)Failure is a relief. Failure means you've done it, you've succeeded at failing -- and it's time to move on to the next try. This is wonderful, because the more failures you accumulate, the closer you are to the prize. No one wins without a few bumps and bruises, a few battle scars. Go out and get yours, make them really mean something, and display them with pride. (More on page 54.)The Dandelion Method: Promiscuous starting, and promiscuous shipping, is the goal. A dandelion throws seeds as far and as numerously as it can. Most of them will fall somewhere they can't grow, and that's okay... because some of them will fall somewhere they can grow. Throw out as many seeds as you can, grow thousands, millions, billions of dandelions. (More on page 71!)After you've read Poke the Box, there's a fantastic workbook they've put together that is highly worth printing and keeping around. There's also a fantastic interview with Seth Godin at Rise To The Top with David Siteman Garland. My favorite comment from the interview: Failureful. At the end, the person who failed the most... WINS.Five stars, and thensome.