Tribes
BY: Seth Godin
Joel Spolsky Is Changing The World
a tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea
a group only needs two things to be a tribe:
1. a shared interest
2. a way to communicate
people want connection and growth and something new, want change
you can’t have a tribe without a leader — and you can’t be a leader without a tribe
Long, Strange Trip
humans have the need to belong — it’s one of the most powerful survival mechanisms
we want to be part of many tribes and it makes our lives better
Tribes Used To Be Local
before tribes we used to depend on geography and if you were located in the same village
now we have the internet — it creates so many possibilities
it goes to waste if you don’t lead and don’t commit — it depends on you, your vision and purpose
In Search if a Movement
some tribes are stuck where they drown out anyone that dares to questions their ways
leadership is waiting
Tribes Aren’t so Squishy Anymore
real power of tribes has nothing to do with the internet and everything to do with people
Something to Believe In
tribes are about faith — about belief in an idea and in a community
do you believe in what and why you do what you do everyday?
Many people are starting to realize that they work a lot, that working in stuff their in is much more satisfying than just getting a pay check and waiting to get fired or die
Many organizations have discovered that the factory-centric model of producing goods and services is not nearly as profitable
Many consumers have decided to spend their money buying things that aren’t factory-produced commodities
consumers are spending time and money in things that matter
fear of change is built into most organisms — first sign of risk
more fun to make the rules than follow them
Leadership is Not Management
management is about manipulating resources to get a known job done
leadership is about creating change that you believe in
leaders have followers and mangers have employees
Stability is an Illusion
marketing changed the idea of stability
people admire the new and stylish
Making a Ruckus
consistent and reliable was the old way to grow an organization — now people want change and if you want people to join or buy in they must be willing to believe through something new
The Market Requires Change and That Requires Leadership
mangers mange by using authority given to them by a boss
leaders use passion and ideas to lead people as oppose to threats and bureaucracy to mange them
Improving a Tribe
two things to turn a group of people into a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate
communication can be found in four kinds: leader to tribe, tribe to leader, tribe member to tribe member, tribe member to outsider
leaders can help increase effectiveness by:
Transforming shared interest into passionate goal and desire for change
Provide tools to allow members to tighten their communication
Leveraging tribe to allow it to grow and gain new members
Anatomy of a Movement
a narrative that tells a story about who we are and the future we’re trying to build
a connection between and among the leader and the tribe
something to do — the fewer limits, the better
The difference Between Average and Mediocre
management often works to maintain the status quo
deliver average products to average people
life’s too short to hate what you do all day
life’s too short to make mediocre stuff
How Many Fans Do You Have
a true fan will invest a bit more for support, will connect with other true fans
only need a few true fans as they can change everything — casual to true fans
they just need generosity and bravery
The Status Quo
organizations that destroys the status quo wins
changing it gives you the opportunity to be remarkable
A Brief History of the Factory, Part 1
factories are efficient — an organization that cranks out a product or service and does it with measurable output and tries to reduce cost
any job where your boss tells you what to do and how to do it
part of us want stability and the absence of responsibility — ‘I’m doing what you told me’
it’s steady, it pays but you won’t find in a factory is a motivated tribe making a difference
what you won’t find outside a factory is excited customers to see what’s there to come
A Brief History of the Factory, Part 2
now those factory jobs aren’t the most stable, describing the dream job isn’t it anymore
The F word
if tribes reward innovation, and initiators are happier, then why doesn’t everyone do it?
because of fear… there’s a lot of great ideas but what’s missing is the will to make it happen
Worth Criticizing
remarkable products or services are like purple cows, worth mentioning — those ideas spread and those organizations grow. Brown cows are boring
Fear of Failure is Overrated
if you work for someone, more often than not, actual cost of failure is absorbed by the organization
what people are afraid of isn’t failure, it’s blame, criticism
we’re worried about that risk as someone may hate on it
but it’s good that we get critical as it means the delivery wasn’t the basic simple expected outcome
how’s your day? If your answer is always ‘fine’ then you weren’t really leading
being remarkable is exciting — being boring or feeling bad wears off
how can I create something that critics will criticize?
Tighter
it’s tempting to grow the tribe larger but a tighter tribe is more likely to hear its leader
now can bring other people together and sit back as they connect
Discomfort
leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort to lead
if everyone could do it, they would, and it wouldn’t be worth much
it’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers, propose an idea that might fail, challenge the status quo, resist the urge to settle — when you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed
if you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader
Followers
a tribe needs followers, but aren’t just willing to follow but are eager to follow
it’s usually the micro leaders and their enthusiastic followers who make the difference
Leaning In, Backing Off, Doing Nothing
leaders figure out ways to step into vacuums and create motion — generate movement to transform a group into a tribe
ex. Paid summer internship for students posting, got 130 applications. Set up a private Facebook chat and about 60 joined, within hours some took the lead and started discussions. But some sat and watched — who would you hire? It’s the natural ability to lead a group to a tribe
“the one path that never works is the most common one: doing nothing at all”
backing off as a leader is different than doing nothing, backing off is making a commitment to the power of the tribe and alert to step in at the right moment
someone who is doing nothing is merely hiding
lean in, back off, but don’t do nothing
Curiosity
a fundamentalist is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his religion before he explores it
versus a curious person who explores first then considers whether or not he wants to accept the ramifications
a curious person embraces the tension between his religion and something new — then decides to embrace the new idea or reject it
curious — a desire to understand, to try, to push whatever envelope is interesting
leaders are curious because they can’t wait to find out what the group is going to do next
in school the curious are punished
the safest thing you can do feels risky and the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe
The School Teacher Experiment
2 classrooms: 1 has 15 students and the other has 32, which group gets a better education?
if all things equal then the smaller class will do better as the teacher has more time to spend on each student and fewer disruptions
now flip it, where the 15 students had to take the course as a requirement to graduate and the 32 was a application process to get in and are excited — no contest now
people always have a choice to join the tribe — so great leaders don’t try to please everyone
The Wrong Question
change isn’t made by asking permission, change is made by asking forgiveness, later
All You Need to Know is Two Things
individuals have far more power than ever before in history
the only one thing holding you back from becoming the kind of person who changes things is lack of faith — faith that you can do it, faith that it’s worth doing
Leaders Are Generous
leaders who set out to give are more productive than leaders who seek to get
those who take that opportunity to lead, are doing it because of what they can do for the tribe, not because of what the tribe can do for them
Climbing Rocks
Chris Sharma is heretic who climbs rocks
changed the rules of an entire sport and influenced the ways people think about personal growth
hundreds of years rock climbers would follow the rule of one foot and one hand on the wall at all times
Chris changed that with a jump or a dyno — dead end and he jumps and grabs on to another rock 2-3 feet away
it was controversial at first and risky, but the impossible routes became possible with this
one person can make change happen with a persistent vision
Who Settles?
settling is no fun. It’s a malignant habit, a sloppy slope that takes you to mediocrity
the art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on
Fear, Faith, and Religion
faith leads to hope, and it overcomes fear
faith gave our ancestors the resilience they needed to deal with the mysteries of the pre science world
it’s merely about developing the faith that it’ll work
religion supports the status quo and encourages us to fit in not stand out
Religion Works Great When it Amplifies Faith
humans invented religion. It’s why we have spiritual, cultural and cooperate religions it gives our faith a little support when it needs it
belief is okay and embrace it
but usually we see the opposite — too many rules that are difficult to change
Over-the-Top Underdog Bravery
leadership almost always involves thinking and acting like the underdog, leaders works to change things
requires bravery and courage, managing does not and following the rules to make a living doesn’t
The Easiest Thing
easiest thing is to react, second easiest thing is to respond but hardest thing is to initiate
reacting is intuitive and instinctive
responding is better with thoughtful actions
initiating is really difficult and that’s what leaders do, they cause the events that others have to react to — they make change
Leaders Go First
the status quo is persistent and resistant
everyone believes that what they’ve got is probably better than the risk and fear that come with change
Sheepwalking
outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them brain-dead jobs and enough fear to keep them in line
training a student to be sheep like is a lot easier than the alternative — teaching to test, ensuring compliant behaviour abs using fear as a motivator are the easiest ways to get a kid through school
a well educated sheep — are managed through fear ‘I might get fired’
you actually don’t want to walk down the same path as everyone else just because everyone else is doing it
must believe in yourself and others that you don’t fall into sheepwalking
How Was Your Day?
ex. 4am Seth can’t sleep so he goes and sits at the hotel lobby in Jamaica checking emails
couple walks by on their way to bed after a long night, woman says ‘isn’t it sad that this guy comes here and stuck with emails on his vacation — he can’t even enjoy his 2 weeks
in reality ‘isn’t sad that we have a job where we spend two weeks avoiding the stuff we have to do fifty weeks a year
feel happy with the job he has as he’s making a change — most people have jobs that fight against change
you don’t have time to mediocre and unhappy
instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from
Your Micromovement
key elements in creating a micromovement:
1. Publish a manifesto: a mantra and a motto and a way of looking at the world, unite the tribe with structure
2. Make it easy for your followers to connect with you: interactions, email, social network etc
3. Make it easy for your followers to connect with one another: create interactions with others
4. Realize that money is not the point of a movement: money exist merely to enable it
5. Track your progress: do it publicly and create pathways for your followers to contribute to that progress
Principles:
1. Transparency really is your only option:
2. Your movement needs to be bigger than you:
3. Movement that grow, thrive: no rush
4. Movements are made most clear when compared to status quo or to movements that work to push the other direction: instead of beating, join them
5. Exclude outsiders: who isn’t part of your movement matters almost as much as who is
6. Tearing others down never as helpful to a movement as building your followers up
How to Be Wrong
if you are unwilling to be wrong then you’ll be unable to be right as often
the secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong — the secret is being willing to be wrong
wrong is not fatal — the desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret to success
do what you believe in — paint a picture of the future and go there, people will follow
Not Now, Not Yet
change almost never fails because it’s too early, it almost always fails because it’s to late
Understanding the Trick
if magic trick so easy to figure out why do few people do it?
nothing to do with knowing how the trick is done and everything to do with the art of doing it
learning the trick won’t do you any good if you haven’t made a commitment first
Criticizing Hope Is Easy
leadership comes when your hope and your optimism are matched with a concrete vision of the future and a way to get there — people won’t follow you if they don’t believe you can get to where you say you’re going
The Elements of Leadership
Leaders challenge the status quo
Leaders create a culture around their goal and involve others in that culture
Leaders have an extraordinary amount of curiosity about the world they’re trying to change
Leaders use charisma (in a variety of forms) to attract and motivate fillers
Leaders communicate their vision of the future
Leaders commit to a vision and make decisions based on that commitment
Leaders connect their followers to another
don’t have to be powerful or in charge to be a leader — you have to be committed
Understanding Charisma
being charismatic doesn’t make you a leader, being a leader makes you charismatic
it’s a choice not a gift
Ronald Reagan’s Secret
most people want in a leader is something that’s very difficult to find — someone who listens
to value what you hear and then to make a decision even if it contradicts the very people you are listening to
people want to be heard and worry less whether or not you do what they said
The Forces of Mediocrity
remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance — when you start making progress, your efforts are met with more resistance
if it were any other way it would be easy — everyone would do it and your work would be devalued
yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it’s unlikely to be worth the journey — persist
How to Sell a Book (or any new idea)
find someone you trust and sell them a copy. Do they love it? Are they excited about it? Excited enough to tell 10 other friends
tribes grow when people recruit other people — they do it for each other
Which Would You Prefer: Trial or Error?
if your organization requires success before commitment, it will never have either
big part of leadership is the ability to stick with the dream for a long time — long enough that critics realize that you’re going to get there one way or another and they follow
Positive Deviants
leaders understand that change is not only omnipresent, but the key to success
ex. Going to developing countries to try and implement something from the outside doesn’t really work long term — instead find leaders that are within the community already and doing well then amplify their work and give them a platform and help them find followers
giving potential leaders the spotlight and encouraging others to follow
Imagination
“Imagination is more important than knowledge” — Albert Einstein
leaders create things that didn’t exist before, do things that didn’t exist before — giving the tribe a vision
you can’t mange without knowledge, you can’t lead without imagination
What, Exactly, Should You Do Now?
every tribe is different, every leader is different — the very nature of leadership is that you’re not doing what’s been done before, if you were then you’d be following not leading
you always have a choice to lead