Seth Godin on Tribes

I'm copying this from my friend Tim Steven's blog because I am really really really into the subject! He is currently in Atlanta at a conference and just spent some time with Seth Godin .

Seth Godin has the biggest business blog in the world and has written 9 best-sellers. I joined a lunch with 25 other bloggers with Seth Godin earlier which was delightful. Then Seth spoke on the big stage to close the first day of Catalyst. Some quotes…

There is a ton of noise out there vying for our attention.

· People are asking two questions…

o Who else is going to be there?

o Who is going to lead us?

· There used to be only three tribes: 1) Church, 2) Work, 3) Community.

· Now, everyone gathers around tribes.

· People don’t do stuff because they want to, but because they want to be with their tribe.

· A crowd is not the same as a tribe.

· A tribe – a group of people, self-selected, often with a leader, all with a common purpose.

· You may be a pastor or director or mom. But what you really do is this: You lead a tribe.

· There are tight tribes and large/open tribes.

o Being on the LA Lakers team is a tight tribe. It takes a lot of qualifications to be in it.

o Being a fan of Oprah only takes an hour. Then you are in her tribe.

· It is naïve to think everyone wants to be in your tribe. Your job is to find the people who want in your tribe.

· No one is seeking a safe leader. You have to do something people will criticize.

· There is a giant distinction between faith and religion. Tribes are based on faith. Whereas religion is often the rules which are imposed on the faith tribes.

· Leadership = marketing and marketing = leadership.

· 7 characteristics of leaders

o Leaders challenge their tribe.

o Leaders intentionally create a culture for their tribe.

o Leaders are curious.

o Leaders have charisma. (You don’t become a leader because you have charisma. You get charisma if you are a leader.)

o Leaders communicate.

o Leaders connect tribe members to each other.

o Leaders commit to the well-being of the tribe.

· Tribes want to…

o Connect

o Create meaning

o Make a difference

o Be noticed

o Matter

o Be missed (if they don’t come back)

· 4v2. Are you doing something 4 the tribe or 2 the tribe?