If I have to go somewhere for personal or business reasons and I can drive there in less than eight hours, I immediately get in the car and don’t think twice about driving instead of flying. Over the past weekend I made a road trip to Florida and to pass the time and curb my ADD, I listened to an audio book by Seth Godin titled “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us.”
Here are my favorite lines from the book:
DISCLAIMER – In order to keep the car from crashing, I used Siri to take notes.
You can’t have a tribe without a leader and a leader can’t lead without a tribe.
Consumers have decided to spend their time and money on things they believe in.
People that like their jobs the most make the biggest difference.
Every organization needs followers that are eager to follow.
No one anoints you as leader.
It’s more fun to make rules then to follow them.
For the first time ever, everyone in an organization is expected to lead.
Management is not leadership.
Managers manage a process they have seen before. Leadership is about creating a change that you believe in.
Managers have employees and leaders have followers.
If you want to grow, you need to find customers that believe in you and want to grow with you.
Leadership takes effort to get out of the way.
Skill and attitude are essential, authority is not.
Shared interests and a way to communicate is all it takes to build your tribe.
People want to be a part of something that matters.
My job as a leader is to help everyone communicate.
A crowd is a tribe that can’t communicate.
With enough leverage you can change anything. A long enough teeter-toddler can lift a sumo wrestler.
We choose not to be remarkable because we are scared of blame and criticism.
If a product launch doesn’t work you won’t get fired, so what are you afraid of?
Fear or criticism is a powerful deterrent. Sometimes just that fear will stop you from even trying.
Good or bad, the things that get talked about are worth talking about.
Great leaders are able to reflect the light onto the tribe and not onto itself.
Top is too far away from the streets where the action is.
Connect and inspire, don’t manage.
Change doesn’t fail because it’s too early but because it’s too late.
Leaders go first.
Track your progress so your followers can see.
It’s uncomfortable to stand up and voice your opinion but that’s why not everyone can be a leader.
Change isn’t about asking for permission but about forgiveness after the fact.
Hire amazing people and give them freedom.
Claim the career you deserve.
Blogs tighten the tribe and Twitter drips info to the tribe.
Spread the word within the tribe. Blogging is an easy way to disseminate these ideas.
I have been learning from Seth Godin through his blogs and books for years and I hope that you will do the same. Remember, “there is a big difference between telling someone to do something and inspiring them to do it.”
