Tribes: We need you to lead us

Tribes: We need you to lead us

Well, this is the title of Seth Godin's (one of my heroes), new book. In this inspirational book, that I read as a part of my January reading plan, Seth argues that today everyone has an opportunity to bring together a tribe of like-minded people and change the world. Yet too many people ignore the opportunity, too afraid to take the lead. It is indeed comforting to know that for people that have passion and drive, there is a tribe of employees, or customers, or investors, just waiting to get connected and follow the leader.

I was underlining the concepts that resonated with me (and ended up marking more than half the book), and thought of putting a few things down here.

* Leaders have followers. Managers have employees. Managers make widgets. Leaders make change. Leadership is about creating the change you believe in. He doesn't push; he leads.
* Leaders lead when they take positions, when they connect with their tribes, and when they help the tribe connect to itself. They use passion and ideas to lead people, as opposed to using threats and bureaucracy to manage them.
* For tribes, average can mean mediocre. Not worth seeking out. Boring. "Good enough" stopped being good enough long time ago. Average stuff is taken for granted, not talked about and certainly not sought out. Defending mediocrity is exhausting. So why not be great?
* Individuals who push their organizations, who inspire other individuals to change rules, thrive. Whatever the status quo is, changing it gives you an opportunity to be remarkable.
* The only thing that is holding you back is your own fear. The essence of leadership is being aware of your fear (and seeing it in the people you wish to lead)
* Deciding to lead, not manage is a critical choice. If you are not uncomfortable with your work as a leader, it is almost certain you're not reaching your potential as a leader. Leadership is a choice. Its the choice to not do anything.
* Curious is the key word. It has to do with a desire to understand, a desire to try. And perhaps its such curiosity that will lead us to distinguish our own greatness from the mediocrity that stares us in the face.
* All that you need to know is two things - first thing is that one peron can change an industry and the second thing is faith. Faith that you can do it; faith that it' worth doing. Faith that failure won't destroy you. Faith leads to hope and it overcomes fear. Without faith it is suicidal to be a leader.
* The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate. Initiating is really and truly difficult, and thats what leaders do.
* The secret of leadership is simple. Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow. Why not you? Why not now?

You can buy the book here: Amazon, IndiaPlaza.

Thank you very much,


RamP!