Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
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Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78  ·  rating details  ·  3,023 ratings  ·  493 reviews
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 ...more
Hardcover, 153 pages
Published October 21st 2008 by Portfolio Hardcover (first published 2000)
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Ron
This book will make you want to go out and change the world.

It's a powerful reminder that what we call "marketing" is really just doing something that you believe in passionately and then sharing that passion with other people, getting them to believe in you as well. There are all sorts of ideas and causes around which we might organize--but in order to do it, we need to be out there, making things happen because we refuse to live with the fear that we can't.
Molly
Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: anyone striving for change
Recommended to Molly by: Seth's blog
Seth Godin is an inspiration to an entire generation of people, many of which spend a large portion of their day in front of a computer for both fun AND profit.

This book Tribes, is the best book on leadership, social change and creating a movement that I have read.

A book that SCREAMS to be highlighted and written in and talked about.

Extremely short chapters that pack a punch, this is a must read for anyone with a burning desire for change who just needs th...more
Carol Howard
This was an interesting mix of self-help/motivational leadership stuff with a bit of insight about how tribes are now forming. I liked it best when Godin talked about the nature of how tribes interact,especially when he explained the difference between how things used to be and how they are now.

The motivational cheerleading seemed a bit inauthentic. I mean, he would write things like "you should be leading..." and I would just think, How do you know? You don't know me.
Marianne
Marianne rated it 1 of 5 stars
Recommended to Marianne by: JSW
So far, not too impressed. The author stays just on the surface and hasn't said anything new or thought-provoking (so far). It would be a better book if it were more focused and had depth, but it seems to be just a repackaging of what's already out there and trendy in the business/marketing world.
Scott Radtke
While the book is small and in some ways lightweight, it also manages to be deeply engaging. In essence it's a rant to get you off your ass and do what you love to do and inspire others to follow. It's about true leadership, not about being a boss or a manager, but a leader.
Todd
Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars
I'll tell you right up front that this is a book you'll dismiss or embrace. I'm fairly certain there is no middle ground here. What it comes down to is your willingness to believe you can lead and your acceptance that most folks are sheepwalking.

Seth takes us through a perspective on what constitutes a leader and what leaders do. He explains from his point of view why companies large and small and the individuals within fight to maintain the status quo. But more than that, there are h...more
Micah Elliott
In the classic Godin style, more than anything this book is motivational, with an expected emphasis on embracing change and overcoming the F-word (Fear). But this time there's more to it (hence the multitude of tags) -- leadership! We have to assemble and lead a tribe, and "managing" isn't going to work. We must start movements, via motivation and connectivity. "The barriers to leadership have fallen," as the necessary tools are now readily available: blogs, search, RSS, soci...more
Ryan
Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars
Business books are usually so vapid and market driven that they rarely deserve a five star rating. Make no mistake, like other books in the genre this too is a small and silly book. What Tribes lacks in sophistication and documentation it makes up for with anecdotes and elegance. The book is filled with rarely articulated common sense observations. Godin's exploration of 21 Century leadership takes the time to make connections between school and lack of leadership. On page 97...

...more
Robert
Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars
Godin's books and blog provide a wealth of information, observations, opinions, and (especially) challenges that can help others to overcome what James O'Toole so aptly characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." In this, his most recent book, he urges his reader to consider and then take full advantage of unprecedented opportunities to become a leader. He cites five different but related reasons: "everyone in an organization - not just the boss - is expe...more
Joe
Joe rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: anybody willing to be a heretic
Shelves: ministry, community
First off, don't approach this book expecting something that is well written. To be honest, the book reads like a few hundred blog posts that, for the most part, link together in some coherent fashion ... although there are times you'll wonder how one thought prompted the next.

Now, with that work of warning out of the way, this book is filled with wisdom about how to lead people. Seth might be a marketing guy to the core, but he's written an amazing book on leadership that aims more ...more
Iamthird
Great leaders create movements by empowering the tribe to communicate. Tribes are about connections : the story, the connection, the possibilities. Don't manage, lead. You have everything you need to build something far bigger than yourself. They are ready to follow if you're ready to lead. Tribes reward innovation...innovators are happier, what's missing is the will to make the ideas happen. In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn't necessarily win. The idea that wins is the one with ...more
Susan
This book reads almost like a big pep talk. Go, lead! Your people await! It was a quick read, but one that has stuck with me. It is saying take what you're passionate about, and build your community. This may not be a concept I will take on right this second, but it will fuel future decisions. After reading it, my blog and other online presences have taken a more purposeful tack, and reveal some deeper thinking from me -- not just what I'm having for dinner tonight!!
Becky
Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: business
Seth Godin has quite a following, and with good reason - he's brilliant. I've read ALL his books since I learned about him in June or July 2008. But this is his best one yet. I'm looking forward to another - perhaps on social media or leadership.

This is not a take-your-hand how-to book. It's a sweeping overview of what Tribes are, why they're important, how they're going to change and are already changing the business world as we know it. Seth uses dozens of examples from every walk...more
Andreas
Part motivational pep, part story-telling, all marketing.

A very easy read, I was well entertained. Godin does well to point out some very basic truths about how to change the status quo. But the quality of these insights were tempered by my annoyance at Godin's "that only you can save mankind" self-help-book style of writing.

Maybe that's just because I hate to think that I can't feel just enthusiasm for the positive message, and that I continue have my own doub...more
Bonnie Grove
It's been a long time since I've read such a book of nonsense. I'm about half-way in, and so far he has said absolutely nothing. I feel like I'm reading a George Lucas script - all sound-bites and no content.
I'll save you the time and expense of buying this book. The message is this: Give your life over to a specific aspect of life, become the go-to person for that niche, be innovative in your use of the internet to spread the word about your masterfulness.
I cannot for the life of be ...more
AM
AM rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: everyone
I've listened to several of Godin's books on audio and the man is a passionate speaker. Listening to his books makes wonderful ideas bounce around inside my head. I feel energized to do something (if I only knew what that was). Mostly it makes me ready to write about something anything as long as I'm getting something out there. My friends have used the word tribe before to describe the camaraderie between us esp online. This book uses that version of tribe with marketing in mind, community buil...more
tomlinton
I've been reading Seth's blog
for a month now
wondering if I should
buy and download his new book
Tribes
to my Kindle
Today's blog on Thanksgiving
http://tinyurl.com/Seth-Godin-Thanksgivi...
Left me no doubt

Finished book
which was rather short
but that's what I've been
shouting 'bout
An important concept
like tribes and their leaders
should not be extended out
for 500 pages
Far more important
to c...more
Ken Schafer
I have to say that I was very disappointed in this outing by Seth Godin. I've read most of his work since Permission Marketing and found this to be one of the weakest.

The book is primarily a call to arms for those in larger organizations who fear taking the lead within those organizations. Very little of it is truly about "Tribes" and how they impact business which is what I thought I was getting.
Romulo
Seth Godin é um escritor bastante pragmático. Ele escreve para que você faça alguma coisa imediatamente depois que voce terminar de ler um dos dos seus livros.

Seus livros também não são profundos, acho que nem ele tem a pretenção de que sejam. Ele capta uma tendência de mudança no mundo do marketing, especialmente o mundo digital, mas também na chamada economia tradicional, e rapidamente escreve um novo livro.

Com este livro não foi diferente. Seth Godin está seguindo o ...more
Rosa
Rosa rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: business, non-fiction
I am a fan of Seth Godin, but this book annoyed me just as much as it entertained me.

In short, Godin seeks to elevate leadership —and I applaud his ideas in that regard, however he does so at the expense of management, and he depreciates the worth of managers nearly every single time he mentions them. I understand the comparison he is trying to make, however please don’t buy in to that notion that we don’t need managers —he is dead wrong.

I listened to this on audio first,...more
Gene Babon
Gene Babon rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: leadership
Leadership is in desperate demand, especially given the current uncertainty in our global economy. Seth Godin provides a call to action for anyone who wants to fill the void, regardless of your current station in life.

The focus is on "tribes" which the author defines as a group of individuals who share a common interest along with a way to communicate with one another. Tribes need leadership. We all belong to multiple tribes. Pick one and lead. That is the author's cal...more
John
John rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: my-books
I don't understand what the big deal is with Seth Godin. I follow his blog and he rarely says anything that I find terribly insightful. Maybe it's the difference in our backgrounds - he comes from a management background and I come from theatre and the arts - but most of what he says is stuff that's pretty obvious to me. And he tends to try and make comparisons between things that are frequently incorrect. For example, in one recent blog post, he compared a Bentley to a Toyota and stated that th...more
Cv Rick
I read business books before, but none like Tribes by Seth Godin. When this book was first recommended to me I thought that it was going to be one of those group friendly, feel good, “the Internet will solve all your problems” books. But instead it was about leadership and it's the kind of leadership that I've often suspected to be genuine. Seth describes the act of taking initiative in creating your own tribe which you lead accidentally or on purpose. And I have to say it's quite refreshing.
...more
RoseMerrie
RoseMerrie rated it 1 of 5 stars
Shelves: owned
Reading someone else's book about leadership-- probably my fault on that one. I won't say there weren't any good points in the book because there were. Many were just spot on, but it's the way that the book is written that bothers me. I expected more of an objective approach rather than that of a motivational book. It's those lucid and clear objective bits I liked, but all this "we" talk felt like an insult. Godin writes that "we" are scared to speak up, "we" d...more
Paul Signorelli
Best-selling author and popular blogger Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.com) wants us to lead. We know he does: he tells us that in the title to this book. His wonderful manifesto about how leaders and their contemporary tribes find each other is an enticing starting point for those who don't have the time or inclination to read denser theses on change management such as Everett Rogers' classic "Diffusion of Innovations" (now in its fifth edition). His language is sparse and direct. Decla...more
Rachel
Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars
Lots of people recommended this book to me.

It reads like a self-help book, which I don't like. The author is constantly saying that 'YOU are the type of leader needed right now!' and rot like that. (Whenever I see things in print telling me that 'YOU are' anything, my immediate reaction is to think it's being presumptuous and to defensively assume I am not at all that thing. So maybe I'm weird.)

The book makes incorrect assumptions about the "new workplace," implyin...more
David
David rated it 3 of 5 stars
Nice short and too the point. Not a lot of profoundly new information here but I agree with his message and it was a fun read. Favorite quotes:


Seth Godin Tribes

p42 In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn't necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it."
"
p44 I'd like to paraprhase the Peter Principle. I think what actually happens is that "in every organization everyone rises to the level...more
Naomi Gilmore
Naomi Gilmore rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: anyone who wants change and adventure in their life
Recommended to Naomi by: Dave Ramsey
You know how your mom always says, "When are you going to settle down and get a good job with benefits?" and you just cringe inside because you don't want to settle for a mediocre job and a mediocre life? You know you were made for more; for abundant life and adventure- even in the workplace. This incredible little book, "Tribes," gives you an astoundingly simple alternative to the "9 to 5-40 hr. work week- living for the weekends- racking up your sick days" career,...more
getAbstract
A guide to taking charge of your tribe

British novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard once said, “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” Best-selling author and Squidoo.com founder Seth Godin concurs. He explains why you should act on your lifelong dreams. He focuses on leadership – how to gather fellow believers, build them into a tribe and achieve outsized results – and discusses ways to use social media to...more
Andrew
Andrew rated it 2 of 5 stars
Godin wrote this loosely tied together (sometimes seems like flight of ideas) book in order to motivate people into taking the major step and leading. Godin openly admits that this does not read like a field manual for leadership, and that is one of the flaws of this book.

Godin does not develop his points very well. He jumps from assertion to assertion to an example that does not necessarily support the prior assertions to a different assertion

A flaw of the book is obviou...more
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Who's winning? The Corporations or the Public? 1 9 Oct 29, 2009 09:17pm  
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Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Audio CD)
Tribes (ebook)
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Audio CD)
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Seth Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change.

Godin is author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world, and he is also a renowned speaker. He was recently chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and is consistently rated among the very best speakers by the audiences he addresses.

Seth was founder and CE...more
More about Seth Godin...
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) Poke the Box Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers
“In a battle between  two ideas, the best one doesn't necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.” 3 people liked it
“Yes, I think it's okay to abandon the big, established, stuck tribe. It's okay to say to them, "You're not going where I need to go, and there's no way I'm going to persuade all of you to follow me. So rather than standing here watching the opportunities fade away, I'm heading off. I'm betting some of you, the best of you, will follow me.” 2 people liked it
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