«Return to Blog List Book Review: Tribes by Seth Godin
I’m guessing Seth Godin, like the rest of us, is completely capable of not thinking clearly on occasion and saying dumb things. But you won’t find evidence of that in Tribes, a book in which he has clearly and compellingly laid out what it takes to be successful in marketing in 2009.
In this little more than pocket-size book, Godin explains the difference between a crowd and a tribe (crowds don’t have leaders or a means of communicating with one another), and notes “Most organizations spend their time marketing to the crowd. Smart organizations assemble the tribe.”
Godin challenges people who are passionate about something to assume a leadership role. The tools, he points out, are there for anyone to use; there’s no longer an excuse to sit on the sidelines and complain about how you wish things were different. You can attract a crowd of like-minded people willing to work toward making things different.
Some of my favorite insights from the book:
- Leadership is too important to be left to the people in charge.
- Faith overcomes fear.
- Tribes are about faith—about belief in an idea and a community.
- Heretics are the new leaders.
- Leaders transform the shared interest of the tribe into a passionate goal and desire for change.
Tags: Seth Godin, Tribes
