I read Linchpin just about the time the interview was posted in 2009/10, and the point he makes in that quote, and in the book, is this:
… the real win is helping people draw their own [map, sic.]. To see the world as it is.
That’s when I realized that to be indispensable, you must help others succeed. Or, as Seth just recently said: “Let others run, ever faster.”
To see how to help others, you must look beyond the immediate. This sometimes requires you to draw outside the lines; veer from the map, and think for yourself. Sometimes you need to abandon the protocol to make the right call. Don’t be a cog in the machine.
Linchpin is easily one of my alltime-favorite books, if not *the* favorite. Come to think of it, that interview might very well have triggered the purchase.
(Tip: If you ever have doubts about yourself, your work, project, etc., turn to page 101 and understand The Resistance your brain is imposing on you.)