Tribes by Seth Godin is a quick read on leadership. I read this book because it was listed on "Books every leader needs to read" or some such similarly named list.
There are some good bits to glean out of this short book. I'll try to condense them here:
Managers are not by nature leaders. Managers allocate resources to accomplish a defined outcome. Leaders change things by setting a vision and building a tribe around that vision.
Tribes are everywhere big and small. Mega-tribes, sub-tribes, etc.
Leadership is inherent risky. But far less risky than our minds tend to think. This is evidenced by the many failures of several highly successful leaders. (Think Elon Musk and the Tesla Truck presentation).
Find people who are doing exceptionally better than average and amplify their influence on everyone else.
Leadership is about challenging the status quo. It is scary. You will have opposition.
More people have the opportunity to be leaders today than at any point in history.
Insert inspirational internet age influencer adage here.
Godin seems to be a very marketing focused writer. Marketing is not one of my primary interests. I'm also not a huge fan of the unstructured layout of the book. There are no chapters, only sections with various titles, seemingly randomly arranged. It reads more like a bunch of excerpts from a blog than really well thought out book. Seth is a prolific blogger.
This isn't a horrible book. It might serve as inspirational material for someone to make a big change. I just don't see it as offering anything different from many business and leadership blogs today. Maybe this is a result of Godin's influence on the ethos of today (the book was first published in 2008) but I doubt it. Either way it now reads as very unoriginal. According to Godin the fact that I'm not super inspired by this book must mean that I'm a proponent of the status quo. Maybe I am a "sheepwalker."
Either way, if you are looking for some inspiration to become a leader, save yourself some money and space on your bookshelf. Find a great blog, there are many, maybe even Seth's. If you are interested in reading this book, keep an eye out at St. Vinnie's in The Dalles. That is where my copy will be sold at an excellent discount.
There are some good bits to glean out of this short book. I'll try to condense them here:
Managers are not by nature leaders. Managers allocate resources to accomplish a defined outcome. Leaders change things by setting a vision and building a tribe around that vision.
Tribes are everywhere big and small. Mega-tribes, sub-tribes, etc.
Leadership is inherent risky. But far less risky than our minds tend to think. This is evidenced by the many failures of several highly successful leaders. (Think Elon Musk and the Tesla Truck presentation).
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Find people who are doing exceptionally better than average and amplify their influence on everyone else.
Leadership is about challenging the status quo. It is scary. You will have opposition.
More people have the opportunity to be leaders today than at any point in history.
Insert inspirational internet age influencer adage here.
Godin seems to be a very marketing focused writer. Marketing is not one of my primary interests. I'm also not a huge fan of the unstructured layout of the book. There are no chapters, only sections with various titles, seemingly randomly arranged. It reads more like a bunch of excerpts from a blog than really well thought out book. Seth is a prolific blogger.
This isn't a horrible book. It might serve as inspirational material for someone to make a big change. I just don't see it as offering anything different from many business and leadership blogs today. Maybe this is a result of Godin's influence on the ethos of today (the book was first published in 2008) but I doubt it. Either way it now reads as very unoriginal. According to Godin the fact that I'm not super inspired by this book must mean that I'm a proponent of the status quo. Maybe I am a "sheepwalker."
Either way, if you are looking for some inspiration to become a leader, save yourself some money and space on your bookshelf. Find a great blog, there are many, maybe even Seth's. If you are interested in reading this book, keep an eye out at St. Vinnie's in The Dalles. That is where my copy will be sold at an excellent discount.
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