Q&A with Seth Godin published on http://www.thedominoproject.com

What does it mean to Poke the Box?
Conformity used to be crucial, fitting in not standing out. Compliance used to be the heart of
every successful organization, every successful career. The reason? We all worked for the
system, in the factory, doing what we were told. Now, though, compliance is no longer a
competitive advantage.
Poke the Box is about the spark that brings things to life. We need to be nudged away from
conformity and toward ingenuity, toward answering unknown questions for ourselves. Even if
we fail, as I have done many times in my life, we learn what not to do by experience and doing
the new.
This isn't the same thing as taking a risk. In fact, the riskiest thing we can do right now is
nothing.
I've had an extraordinary run, creating a dozen nationwide bestsellers, starting Internet
companies, and giving speeches around the world. The key thing I bring to the projects I take on is not more talent than most (I don't) or even more hours than most (hardly). My contribution is a willingness to poke, to start, to lean into the project and to get it out the door.

What will I learn from reading Poke the Box?
Hopefully you will learn a lot but do even more. Start thinking about when you've taken
initiative in a way that really meant something to you and your team, your family. When was the last time you did something for the first time? How did it feel?
There are no step-by-step how-to instructions in Poke the Box. Instead, you'll find a foundation
for taking a different approach to your work. Instead of learning to be more compliant, I want to
push you to be the one who takes initiative, to do the things you've been waiting (or afraid) to do because you want to be picked. Stop waiting, and pick yourself. That's the goal of Poke the Box.

Why did you write this book?
I've been fortunate enough to hear from almost a million people over the years, to talk with
CEOs and bosses and customers from around the world. And they all tell me precisely the same thing: it's the motive force they demand, the person who will shake things up and move them forward.
Static is not an acceptable state. The status quo is no longer something we want at work or in
politics or in any organization we care about.
The market is just waiting for people to step forward. I wrote the book for those people, the ones who've been hesitating to take the leap.

Why did you start The Domino Project?
The Domino Project is my attempt at "poking." It's an independent publishing imprint founded
by me and powered by Amazon. This is an opportunity to publish ideas committed to readers,
rather than just to bookstores or publishers. It's named after the domino effect--where one
powerful idea spreads down the line, pushing from person to person.
I have two audacious goals: I want to change the people who read (not enough do), and I want to change the way books are published (they're too hard to find and spread). I honestly believe that a book can change a mind like nothing else, and that's our focus: to help anyone do work they're proud of and to make a difference.

Why Amazon?
I partnered with Amazon so we could leverage what we both do best - Amazon is the leader in
global distribution, multiple format production capabilities, and reaching people in the right way, and I want to spread powerful ideas to the people who want to read them.
For fifteen years, Amazon has been building an audience and gaining our trust. Many surveys
identify them as the most-trusted new brand in the world. Now that Amazon is interacting with
more people more often, they have a chance to bring those customers new ideas in innovative
ways. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to bring ideas worth spreading to a huge and eager
audience.

Who is Seth Godin?
I'm an author, entrepreneur, and a person who starts things.
 

Information about the Domino Project from their site: http://www.thedominoproject.com

The Domino Project: What happens when a publisher has a tight, direct connection with readers, is able to produce intellectual property that spreads, and can do both quickly and at low cost? A new kind of publishing, the brainchild of Seth Godin, and powered by Amazon.

The Domino Project is named after the domino effect--one powerful idea spreads down the line, pushing from person to person. The Project represents a fundamental shift in the way books (and digital media based on books) have always been published. Eventually consisting of a small cadre of stellar authors, this is a publishing house organized around a new distribution channel, one that wasn't even a fantasy when most publishers began.

We are reinventing what it means to be a publisher, and along the way, spreading ideas that we're proud to spread. Our core beliefs:

• Exceptionally high quality ideas, created without regard for what bookstores and middlemen want.
• Ideas packaged with cogency and urgency in mind, not a word wasted, no filler.
• Permission at the heart of the model. Ideas for our readers, not more readers for our ideas.

• Virality first. An idea that requires a direct sale won't thrive in a world where the most powerful ideas spread from hand to hand. Create content that works best when spread, and then package it so it's easy to spread.
• Reward the sneezers who stand up and spread these ideas.
• No patience for obsolete institutions. Bestseller lists are not worth compromising for.
• Speed triumphs. Rapid time to market, rapid evolution, rapid response to reader feedback.
• Format agnostic. Kindle, audiobook, paperback, collectible... all good.
• Different products for different customers. A variety of price points and formats to match audience desires.

Find out more about Seth by reading his blog.

Some of Seth's posts about the move to this sort of publishing are here, here and here.