I love Seth Godin. He is one of the most insightful writers that I have ever met, and is clearly a marketing guru. He is also one of the only bloggers that I follow faithfully.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/11/cant-top-this.html

I get his column every day and it immediately makes me feel good and bad at the same time. His advice is normally spot on, but also very hard to follow if you are trying to run a business during a downturn. I try to follow his advice, but it is kind of like being on a diet- every now and then you backslide, and binge.

Godin’s column has also been a great connection between me and Hal, one of our very thoughtful creative directors who is always pushing me to focus on our strengths, and to never surrender when it comes to creative excellence. Like Seth Godin, Hal is the angel on my shoulder that is always whispering what I should be doing, and then there is my evil side that is often whispering what our balance sheet needs. I like listening to Hal and Seth Godin more than I like listening to my instincts and bad habits. They are the conscience that makes great agencies great, and I am the financial reality which can pull things down.

So it is not a coincidence that Hal actually turned me onto Seth Godin. They both are brilliant, they both believe that the principles of focus, excellence and creativity will win out. They both “get” branding and also know that complicated principles need to be communicated in plain English, not hidden in dense forests of jargon. And for that I love them both. I bet that Hal and Seth would make great suite mates- and  both of them are gifted writers.  I feel lucky every morning that I get to read a Seth Godin post, but I feel even luckier that I can just walk down the hall and sit with Hal in person every time I need a swift kick in the butt.