I just finished TRIBES by Seth Godin and was again impresed with Seth's writing style and simple but straight forward message.

Some highlights....

Tribes are not about stuff, they are about connections.

The anatomy of a movement (3 elements) by Senator Bill Bradley

1) A narrative tells a story about who we are and the future we are trying to build.
2) A connection between and among the leader and the tribe.
3) Something to do - the fewer limits, the better.

Too often organizations fail to do anything but the third.

Start a newsletter People will want to be part of the journey.

Kevin Kelly (of Wired fame) speaks of the power of 1000 true fans.


The Technium: 1,000 True Fans

The Principle Revisited:

People get promoted to their highest level of incompetence should be everyone rises to the level at which they become paralyzed by fear. Very true of my last organization.

Seth mentions Keith Ferrazzi (Never Eat Alone) and how he is a master networker and is able to lead an unleadable group. He introduces people, he invites them to dinner, finds areas of common interest and then gets out of the way.

Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. If everyone could do it, they would, and it would not be worth much.

It's uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.
It's uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.
It's uncomfortable to challenge the status quo.
It's uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.
When you identify the discomfort, you've found the place where a leader is needed.


Curious people count. They're the ones who lead the masses in the middle who are stuck. Once recognized, the quiet persistent voice of curiousity does not go away. Ever.

Your micromovement:

1) Publish a manifesto.
2) Make it easy for your followers to follow you.
3) Make it easy for your followers to connect with one another.
4) Realize that money is not the point of a movement.
5) Track your progress.

Principles.
1) Transparency really is your only option
2) Your movement needs to be bigger than you.
3) Movements that grow, thrive.
4) Movements are made most clear when compared to the status quo or to movements that work to push in the other direction.
5) Exclude outsiders
6) Tearing others down is never as helpful to a movement as building your followers up.



What leaders do....

challenge the status quo
create a culture around their goal and involve others in their culture
have an extraordinary amount of curiosity about the world they're trying to change
use charisima to attract and motivate followers
communicate their vision of the future
commit to a vision and make decisions based on that commitment
connect their followers to one another


It's a simple process.

Find leaders, amplify their work, give them a platform, help them find followers and things will get better, they always get better.

You cannot manage without knowledge, you cannot lead without imagination.

Belief:

People do not believe what you tell them.
They rarely believe what you show them.
They often believe what their friends tell them.
They always believe what they tell themselves.

Leaders give people stories that they can tell themselves.