Seth Godin, The 2018 Jack Covert Award for Contribution to the Business Book Industry Winner

Seth Godin has done it all. It often seems like he does it all in the course of a single year. In 2018, for instance, he delivered one of his finest books, with the bold proclamation that This is Marketing, and published another book under his Domino Project imprint, all while continuing The Marketing Seminar, from which more than 5,000 people have learned to do modern, meaningful marketing, and his altMBA online leadership and management workshops, engaging more than 3,000 students from over 45 countries in the most impactful ideas around topics of business and life.

As 800-CEO-READ founder and former president Jack Covert recently said:

Just mention the name "Seth" to anyone in our industry, and they will immediately know who you’re talking about. One name is all you need. He is that influential. And he is just as generous. Talking to Seth is like drinking from a firehose. The ideas that come from the man’s brain seem endless, and we have benefited greatly as a company from our conversations and connection to him. I know for a fact that he has had a similar impact on countless others.

It is because of that ongoing impact that Jack decided to give him the 2018 Jack Covert Award for Contribution to the Business Book Industry.

In This is Marketing, Seth breaks marketing down to five steps, the final one being to “show up—regularly, consistently, and generously, for years and years—to organize and lead and build confidence in the change you seek to make.” That is exactly what Seth does. 

Seth, responding to the news he'd be given the award this year, responded: 

Jack Covert is the original godfather, the generous, insightful kingmaker who made book magic happen for a generation. Jack understands that ideas matter, and that ideas that spread, win. I'm blown away that this award somehow ended up on my desk. I'll try to live up to the model he's set for all of us.

The President and Publisher of Portfolio, Adrian Zackheim, who has published books by Seth for a decade and a half now, said:

We could not be more proud and happy to be the long-time publisher of Seth Godin, who has become a personal and professional friend to Portfolio. Over so many books since 2003—from Purple Cow to The Dip to Tribes to Linchpin to This is Marketing—we have enjoyed a unique partnership. No other author has challenged us quite so much to up our game. No other author has rewarded us, and his readers, with so many remarkable books of enduring value. Indeed, no other author has guided us, as Seth has, to define what we really stand for.  Our hats are off to you, Seth!

The many classic books Seth has under his belt have already cemented his legendary status in the industry, but as he showed in 2018, he isn’t resting on those laurels. He uses every inch he's gained, every insight he has earned, to push further, to inspire and lead more change. Seth Godin is an author, publisher, entrepreneur, and an endless idea generator. He is a leader. He has been a champion of the business book industry—acting as inspiration, mentor, and guide to so many others in the field—and has also challenged it in positive ways over the years. He is a teacher and a big picture thinker, one who knows how to broaden our worldview, and how to bring it back to the everyday basics we need to help build the world we want to see.