Rating: 
Summary: The bar may just be too high.
Review: I like books that don't require learning an imaginary language. Reading Sartre once was enough. I like books that don't require quantum leaps of logic. I like books that don't require a complete suspension of my system of disbelief. I like books that I that I can finish. I didn't like this book. Looking for philosophical business thought from science? See "Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World Revised" by Margaret J. Wheatley
Rating: 
Summary: Change Agency for the Intellectual
Review: I listened to the unabridged CD. Seth did a great job stepping up the level of intellectualism in books on change and bringing many interrelated strategy concepts together. As a change agent that reads a lot of books on change I find that to often the subject is change management and there is only so much to be said on the subject. Seth clearly separates change as a vital part of business that is continuous and transformative versus something that is an event that must be managed. This book will provide you with some moments of genius, some moments that will challenge your thoughts, some moments you will disregard and some, moments you will find completely bizarre. But, that is the mark of vision and thought leadership. Nice job Seth! A recommended read for the change agents and the people we serve. Zoom!
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable...
Review: I really enjoyed Seth Godin's Permission Marketing so I had high expectations of Survival is Not Enough and I must say that my expectations were easily met. I read the book cover to cover in one day and found that Seth's insights were not only meaningful but inspirational.
Any person managing people or thinking of starting a company should invest in reading this book. It will definitely change the way you see the role of people in your company and how companies hold on to survival for dear life rather then embracing change to continue and succeed and as we're shown time and time again "Survival is Not Enough"
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, Repetitive, Some Good Ideas but Flawed
Review: I was intrigued by the author's idea of comparing the evolution of ideas and businesses, to the science of evolution. I'm pretty sure that Seth Godin has never read any of the excellent essays or books by Stephen Jay Gould whose words have helped educate me about evolution. Godin seems to have learned about evolution not from scientists, but from Star Trek (which assumes that 'evolution' has a fixed agenda, and that 'evolution' is the term used for a single-generation transformation of a species from humanoid to transcendant being). Even when Godin has the right ideas about evolution, his analogy of "genes" and "DNA" to "memes" and "mDNA" often fails through carelessness: he often confuses his own terms and concepts. The real thesis of "Survival is Not Enough" is that companies need to "zoom" by trying new ideas, by experimenting, by accepting that when their business environment changes, they must transform themselves or fail. Godin is certainly not wrong: every business needs to adapt and experiment. No company can survive the transformation of its environment unless the company transforms itself. Every company should try new things, different things, even bizarre "gonzo" ideas, in order to learn what works and what does not. Yes, "zooming" is a good idea, but Godin doesn't seem to accept that there are limits: company staff, budgets, and attention. Godin's notion of launching many experiments, including launching multiple projects that bet against each other, is intriguing but clearly unaffordable to most companies. Yes, companies must experiment, and try new ideas and new projects, and we must accept that failing is better than not trying -- but Godin provides no guidance on how to choose which experiments to try, which risks to accept, and which to reject. There are some good ideas in Godin's book, but I think most of them could have been captured in a dozen pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Godin does it again
Review: I'll admit that I was excited when I first opened Seth Godin's new book. I loved Permission MArketing and I thought that the Fez book was terrific as well. SURVIVAL does not disappoint. In a brilliant use of evolutionary biology, Godin forces us to look at a business in a brand new way. This book has dramatically changed the way I look at my job, my company and my career. I've read it twice and bought copies for all my co-workers. It's that good... the best book of the year! (so far.)
Rating:
Summary: Godin does it again!
Review: In his follow-up to the popular e-book Unleashing the Ideavirus, marketing guru Seth Godin uses Darwin's theory of evolution as an extended metaphor for how companies have to constantly change in order to adapt to unstable economic environments. Survival Is Not Enough: Zooming Evolution, and the Future of Your Company maintains that in these uncertain times, business owners have to constantly tinker with their marketing, products, and personnel, even if they've already discovered some successful strategies. While he lays the metaphors on a little thick, Godin's otherwise clear, crackling prose and real-life examples make the book an engaging read.
Rating:
Summary: A breakthrough--a business book you can think about
Review: In this painstakingly researched book, the author goes way out on a limb but defends his point of view brilliantly. Unlike popular science books, which only educate, this book is filled with practical advice about things you can do right now. The stories are funny and it's a fast read. Recommended
Rating: 
Summary: Journalism, perhaps, but
Review: It seems impossible to write a book like this from within the walls of any business, conventional or otherwise. An outsider, however, might easily take the view, Just Do It, unaware of all the obstacles to just doing it. And it isn't useful to suggest Just Do It without providing useful ideas for eliminating, end-running, or leapfrogging the obstacles. Of course survival is not enough. The world does not need a very diluted version of the book Bioeconomics, for which this book seems like a Cliff Notes. The problem is obvious. Let's hear from those with solutions, people who have devised those solutions and seen them through execution to results. Then we have something. Until then, these are very conventional theories, nicely packaged for easy swallowing.
Rating:
Summary: Journalism, perhaps, but
Review: It seems impossible to write a book like this from within the walls of any business, conventional or otherwise. An outsider, however, might easily take the view, Just Do It, unaware of all the obstacles to just doing it. And it isn't useful to suggest Just Do It without providing useful ideas for eliminating, end-running, or leapfrogging the obstacles. Of course survival is not enough. The world does not need a very diluted version of the book Bioeconomics, for which this book seems like a Cliff Notes. The problem is obvious. Let's hear from those with solutions, people who have devised those solutions and seen them through execution to results. Then we have something. Until then, these are very conventional theories, nicely packaged for easy swallowing.
Rating:
Summary: Good Ideas but No Practical How-To
Review: Most marketing types I've worked with are great at coming up wild ideas but they have no idea how to get them done. This book (written by a marketer) is exactly that - good ideas in theory, but no practical advice is given for how to implement them in the REAL WORLD of day-to-day business. The basic premise of the book (which I do not argue with, by the way) is that companies must be constantly adapting, changing and evolving or they will become extinct. The author is touting his own brand of buzzwords like "zooming" and "The Red Queen" to describe what he sees as the way to get this done. Namely, find ways to make lots of little, cheap changes in what you do every day and test them to see what works, fail a lot and keep adapting. This is great advice but how exactly one gets this done in a company that has a make-no-mistakes-or-die culture is not explained. The authors best advice is that if you work for a company like this just go get another job. If people in the company don't get onboard with the concept or try to block your efforts to change the culture -- just fire them. Such easy answers to life's problems can only come from the mind of someone from marketing! This book reads like a brainstorming session with lots of quick ideas churned out in rapid fire but very little "meat" on how to implement them. I found myself reading through and saying to myself, "OK, that's an interesting idea, but how would you get it done in a company that isn't already doing it?" I'd turn the page and instead of the how-to part he'd be off on another concept. The author spends too much time comparing his theory to the theory of evolution as if he can give his concepts more credence by shrouding them in the guise of science. I would rather that he spent more time explaining how to put his ideas into play; especially for those who do not have dictatorial powers at work. If you have a job that does not require you to actually implement what you come up with (like a CEO or someone who works in marketing) then this book may give you some good grist for the old idea mill. Otherwise, there will be a diminishing rate of return for those who have to deal with reality more often than not.
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