A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It's our nature. Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger. But more important, they're enabling countless new tribes to be born--groups of ten or ten thousand or ten million who care about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming. And so the key question: Who is going to lead us? The Web can do amazing things, but it can't provide leadership. That still has to come from individuals-- people just like you who have passion about something. The explosion in tribes means that anyone who wants to make a difference now has the tools at her fingertips. If you think leadership is for other people, think again--leaders come in surprising packages. Consider Joel Spolsky and his international tribe of scary-smart software engineers. Or Gary Vaynerhuck, a wine expert with a devoted following of enthusiasts. Chris Sharma leads a tribe of rock climbers up impossible cliff faces, while Mich Mathews, a VP at Microsoft, runs her internal tribe of marketers from her cube in Seattle. All they have in common is the desire to change things, the ability to connect a tribe, and the willingness to lead. If you ignore this opportunity, you risk turning into a "sheepwalker"--someone who fights to protect the status quo at all costs, never asking if obedience is doing you (or your organization) any good. Sheepwalkers don't do very well these days. Tribes will make you think (really think) about the opportunities in leading your fellow employees, customers, investors, believers, hobbyists, or readers. . . . It's not easy, but it's easier than you think.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Band of Hunter-Gatherers:
Seth Godin fails to provide insight into: (1) essential leadership responsibilities such as cultivating, nurturing and developing the tribe and its members; (2) description and assessment of other key tribal job functions; and (3) suggested application of tribal knowledge to benefit our fellow man. I'm left with the impresson that being a tribal leader is both a means and an end in itself.
Marketing Leadership:
Seth Godin is a great marketer. In Tribes, he sets on the challenge of convincing readers that they should start leading. To start with, Seth shares an argument that people are organized in tribes, and tribes need leaders. He defines tribe as a group of people with a shared interest and a way to communicate. This is best exemplified in the case of blogs - any blog has an author (the leader), readers (the tribe) and a comments section (the way to communicate). While the author claims that the technology... more info
More Seth, How can you go wrong?:
I loved this book and found myself inspired several times over. Well written and easily understood as all Seth books are. (I am a fan in case you can't tell.) If you feel "stuck" in the system and want a little nudge to help you along, this book can do just that. On the other hand, if you have no intentions of being a leader of any sort...this book will probably scare you.
If Maslow had read this book, it would be 2nd on the heirarchy of needs:
Reading this book is like drinking water, or eating chicken. If you don't do it regularly, you'll probably die. Seriously, though, if you are a young person like me this book is likely to blow your mind. I know I'll be buying it for some people! Judging by the negative reviews, it seems that those who already consider themselves great leaders may be offended by the book. So read at your own risk!
