Every time I read one of Seth Godin’s books I get a shot of creativity that is, well, it’s like I imagine doing crack cocaine (but in a good way - read on).
It hasn’t always been this way - I admit to having read Unleashing the Ideavirus (PDF, 893KB) four or five times before I actually got Marketing 2.0. Steve Collins has been a constant source of inspiration - and yes, sometimes irritation 
- for me until I did get it. Thanks for hanging in there, Steve!
When I read a Godin book now, wierd things happen - I get inspired, and lateral thinking goes into overdrive - reading Free Prize Inside and learning about Edgecraft led me to realise at a meeting yesterdat that complex legal requirements can be expressed in simple terms using Infocom text adventure metaphors (”If the product is the only member of it’s group, and it will be released within this time frame, and etc, then this clause applies” becomes “If you approach the iron door, and you have the parrot and the key, then the parrot will fly over the three-headed dog and open the door with the key”. Others have blogged about metaphors in the past, this is not about the metaphor, it is about taking something so wildly out of context that everyone else in the room thought I was joking until I explained how this would help. Some of them got it, the rest will in time.
If you are alive, and need to generate and communicate big ideas, read Seth Godin. It costs less than illicit substances, is not (quite) as addictive, and you’ll benefit from it.
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