I loved the book so much I wrote this article...
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My name is Gregory Cox, and I am a Heretic.
What I learned from Seth Godin's Tribes.
Hello everyone. My name is Gregory Cox, and I am a heretic AND leader.
I wanted to start this review that way, because the book Tribes by Seth Godin is going to make you a bold person. It's going to make you excited about following your heart, about following your passions, and showing you the absolute need for you to be a leader in your business, your family, and your life. And - and this is what it's all about - other people's lives.
Are you ready to be a leader?
Why is it that Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead were followed around like a second coming of Christ? With only one top 40 album, the Grateful Dead became a complete movement unto themselves. And there's a reason. This book addresses that.
The Grateful Dead: one Top 40 album, HUGE following.
Tribes used to the local. Now, their global. There is the ability in our lifetime (!) to instantly communicate with one another, all over the world. And we are just beginning. Someday soon even, I don't even think languages are going to be a barrier. In our lifetime we will most likely see instantaneous communication between cultures, without learning different languages.
So, are you ready to be a leader? It's not whether you can get in touch people anymore, it's if your signal to noise ratio is high. That means what you say is more important than how many times you say it, or how loud you shout it. It's about speaking with authority and purity. It's about speaking with passion. It's about saying I know the way.
It's fun to be a heretic.
I am a heretic. Hence, the impishness.
For me, being in business for myself is much about being my own boss. One might say that's a cop out. One might also say that it's a greater responsibility. Especially to my clients.
I'm supposed to be the court jester, the fool, the dreamer, the magician, the one that challenges opinions and beliefs. Especially in marketing.
After all, if marketing is a predator and prey interaction, one might say that I am supposed to think like a heretic. I can't beat out my competition if I'm doing the exact same thing they are doing.
Leadership is not management.
Leadership is about creating change that you believe in, not about ordering people around. It's about changing status quo, not maintaining or managing it. There is no stability in life. Everything changes all the time, including in marketing. So, welcome change with open arms.
1000 true fans.
1000 fans will bring you enough attention and support to make a great living. 1000 fans will support you through your life - financially and otherwise. Many of the organizations that I (and Seth, apparently) have bumped into care about numbers, not fans. This is a very bad way to enter into the future.
Let me ask you this: do you think it's important to get on Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn because it will bring you money, or because it will connect you with the people that will influence your future? QED.
Envision yourself rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Now what is important to you? Where would you throw your time?
Well, that's what should be important to you right now. It's important a start with the right mindset. And there are many books that say the same thing. If all you're here to do is to make money, you probably won't make much money. There are exceptions, of course. But are they happy?
Being a leader means being uncomfortable.
You know, Jesus made his disciples uncomfortable. He wanted them to be leaders.
The very nature of leadership is to lead others. That means there's nobody in front of you telling you what to do or where to go. That means it's going to be uncomfortable. Get over it.
If you accept the fact that you must be a leader, then you must accept the fact that it will be uncomfortable. Use your discomfort to drive you forward. I believe that adopting the right mindset means pushing towards discomfort. If you feel yourself becoming too comfortable, it's time to shake things up.
Your tribe members are not blind sheep.
If your followers do what you say without question, two things will happen. One, you will never ever find a quiet time to yourself ever again. Two, your tribe will never grow.
Hey, it's getting better.
They use to burn heretics at the stake. At least you don't have to worry about that anymore.
Why settle when you can achieve greatness?
And perhaps this is why I wrote this article for Vision Fridays. There is no logic in going for mediocrity.
And now that you have the ability to connect with everyone in the world very quickly, why not try out some of those crazy ideas on the global populace?
Why not challenge yourself throughout your life? Why not challenge others? The limit of what you can do is most certainly less restricting than you think it is. Why not find out the limits of your capabilities?
Start a tribe. At the very least, at the end of your life you won't have to wonder.
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Reviews with images
Sustaining a Tribe
Godin, S. (2008). Tribes: We need you to lead us. Penguin Group.Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!).Godin defines a tribe as a "group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea." He contrasts the factory from the tribe where the factory represents efficiency, stability, and potentially the absence of "fear." Fear, Godin said, not of failure (although fear gets attributed to this) but instead fear of criticism. Leaders fear but they successfully overcome fear with visions of success. Faith (not in a religious sense), but faith as hope which overcomes fear is essential. Leaders focus their energies on: transforming people's shared interests into passion and desire for change; providing tools to facilitate members' communications; and leveraging the tribe to gain new members (p. 25). Technology facilitates a wide array of opportunities to facilitate tribe formation. Godin described leaders as those who care and act, not for monetary or status benefits, but instead to "[watch] the tribe thrive. " A central theme is that new ideas and innovation occur within those who step outside the "factory" to imagine anew.I'm intrigued by the notion of tribes including how they are formed and sustained. My difficulty with this book contrasting the factory and heretics (leaders) as though factory work/workers were less than heretics. What I learned from interviewing women who worked in a factory was that these women were not automatons merely following orders, there was a strong sense of agency and action. This characterization of "the factory" is a tired description that can invalidate people's lived experiences. He raises a valid point that innovators often go against prevailing modes of thinking, being, and acting. If you're interested in learning how to harness and sustain online communities, I suggest reading instead: Hunt, T. (2009). The whuffie factor. New York.
Top reviews from other countries
Saumya singh
Must buy if interested in management
Reviewed in India on September 1, 2023
Saumya singh
Reviewed in India on September 1, 2023
I gave it a shot and it was worth it. Deep insights by the author which is surprisingly a result out-of-the-box thinking. Go for it!
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Gabriel
Genius.
Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2019
Gabriel
Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2019
Know that this book about ''leader'' has nothing to do with domination, Seth Godin understand very well the game, and is not into abuse, persuasion and other things that are not in correlation with honesty, he is very clean and wonderful, it's true leading that he is talking about.
I'm still quite at the beginning of the book and I can tell, I don't know if there is spiritual quotes or spiritual masters named in the book, but for sure, this is leader spirituality, this is mastery. Go ahead a get it my friend hahaha.
I love it... He wakes up my own genius... That's what genius is.
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Manolo Macchetta
Seth Godin è davvero bravo ad anticipare i tempi e scriverci su libri.
Reviewed in Italy on August 5, 2020