Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

by Seth Godin

Response is always better than reaction.

Initiating is really and truly difficult, and that’s what leaders do.

Everyone believes that what they’ve got is probably better than the risk and fear that come with change.

Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.

create change in response to the outside world,

Tribes are the most effective media channels ever, but they’re not for sale or for rent. Tribes don’t do what you want; they do what they want. Which is why joining and leading a tribe is such a powerful marketing investment.

The secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal.

The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.

The big win is in turning donors into patrons and activists and participants. The biggest donors are the ones who not only give, but also do the work.

it has nothing to do with knowing how the trick is done, and everything to do with the art of doing it. The tactics of leadership are easy. The art is the difficult part.

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 followers. Leaders communicate their vision of the future. Leaders commit to a vision and make decisions based on that commitment. Leaders connect their followers to one another.

It’s easy to give in to your fear and tell yourself that you don’t have what it takes to lead.

Tribes grow when people recruit other people. That’s how ideas spread as well. The tribe doesn’t do it for you, of course. They do it for each other.

And so, the obligation: don’t settle. To have all these advantages, all this momentum, all these opportunities and then settle for mediocre and then defend the status quo and then worry about corporate politics—what a waste.

I don’t think we have any choice. I think we have an obligation to change the rules, to raise the bar, to play a different game, and to play it better than anyone has any right to believe is possible.

Credit isn’t the point. Change is.

Leaders create things that didn’t exist before. They do this by giving the tribe a vision of something that could happen, but hasn’t (yet).

You can’t lead without imagination.

Why Not You, Why Not Now? The barriers to leadership have fallen. There are tribes everywhere, many in search of leaders. Which creates a dilemma for you: without a barrier, why not begin?

Today, of course, you can publish a book all by yourself. Just visit Lulu.com and you’re done.