The following contains excerpts from the book, Tribes (Seth Godin).
At our music school in Midland, Texas be believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. The discussion of relationships is paramount when dealing with Leadership.
Tribes was published in 2008, and was written to give a clarion call, to anyone who chooses to lead, that the Internet has given them a perfect platform to do so. Never before in history has an individual been given so much leverage to change civilization with their ideas. Godin contrasts the ‘industrial age’ way of doing business, with all of its hierarchical structure, intimidating into submission all those who might have hoped to lead, with the new paradigm with a need for more leaders, and not just leaders, but radical heretics who challenge the status quo.
In this new paradigm the Internet has spawned, a leader is not to function ‘top down,’ but rather be able to communicate an idea that everyone else embraces as their own. Of equal importance, this leader makes it possible for each of the members of the ‘tribe’ to communicate with one another effectively. Although much of what Godin presents is directly related to the emerging technology of the day, he admits that it is only a powerful resource, and not the ‘agent’ of leadership. Leadership is simply a choice.
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea…You can’t have a tribe without a leader- and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.”
It is our goal at our music school in Midland, Texas to help each student see their unique potential and how it applies to their future choices of relationships and influence. We hope to inspire leadership in each one of them, as they pursue their passions and dreams to serve others.
“The Internet is just a tool…The real power of tribes has nothing to do with the Internet and everything to do with people. You don’t need a keyboard to lead…you only need the desire to make something happen.”
“Generous and authentic leadership will always defeat the selfish efforts of someone doing it just because she can.”
“Tribes are about faith- about belief in an idea and in a community. And they are grounded in respect and admiration for the leader of the tribe and for the other members as well.”
“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 only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way. The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret of success.”
We encourage students at our music school in Midland, Texas to view ‘failure’ as a learning experience. Picture a baby learning to walk. How many times does he fall and get back up before he is successful at walking? The same is true for our growing process in all aspects of life.
“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
“It’s rare that it’s obvious when to lead…more often than not, great leadership happens when the tribe least expects it. The non-obvious moments are the ones that count. Like now, perhaps.”
“I’m imagining that your colleagues aren’t stupid. But when the world changes, the rules change. And if you insist on playing today’s games by yesterday’s rules, you’re stuck. Stuck with a stupid strategy. Because the world changed.”
“The Internet allows some organizations to embrace long-distance involvement…This is new leverage. It means opening yourself up to volunteers and encouraging them to network, to connect with one another, and, yes, even to mutiny. It means giving every one of your professionals a blog and the freedom to use it. It means mixing it up with volunteers so they have something truly at stake. This is understandably scary for many nonprofits, but I’m not so sure you have a choice.”
“The largest enemy of change and leadership isn’t a ‘no.’ It’s a ‘not yet.’ ‘Not yet’ is the safest, easiest way to forestall change. ‘Not yet’ gives the status quo a chance to regroup and put off the inevitable for just a little while longer. Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late…There’s a small price for being too early, but a huge penalty for being too late. That longer you wait to launch an innovation, the less your effort is worth.”
“Adam Gopnik quotes (Jamy Ian) Swiss (magician) as saying, “Magic only happens in a spectator’s mind. Everything else is a distraction…Methods for their own sake are a distraction. You cannot cross over into the world of magic until you put everything else aside and behind you- including your own desires and needs- and focus on bringing an experience to the audience. This is magic. Nothing else.”
“Substitute ‘leadership’ for ‘magic’ and there you are.”
“People won’t follow you if they don’t’ believe you can get to where you say you’re going. Managers are the cynical ones. Managers are pessimists because they’ve seen it before and they believe they’ve already done it as well as it can be done. Leaders, on the other hand, have hope. Without it, there is no future to work for.”
“Caring is the key emotion at the center of the tribe. Tribe members care what happens, to their goals and to one another. Many organizations are unable to answer the question ‘Who cares?’ because in fact, no one really does…If no one cares, then you have no tribe. If you don’t care- really and deeply care- then you can’t possibly lead.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we care deeply about each student and provide them a hope and an opportunity to reach their goals and dreams both by casting vision for them, as well as partnering with them to help them grow.
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…You don’t have to be in charge or powerful or pretty or connected to be a leader. You do have to be committed.”
“I think most people have it upside down. Being charismatic doesn’t make you a leader. Being a leader makes you charismatic.”
“What most people want in a leader is something that’s very difficult to find: we want someone who listens.”
“The secret, Reagan’s secret, is to listen, to value what you hear, and then to make a decision even if it contradicts the very people you are listening to. Reagan impressed his advisers, he adversaries, and his voters by actively listening. People want to be sure you heard what they said- they’re less focused on whether or not you do what they said.”
Perhaps one of the greatest life-lessons students will learn at our music school in Midland, Texas is the value of listening. Listening is different than hearing, in that the first is active and the second, passive.
“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. Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.”
“It’s a myth that change happens overnight, that right answers succeed in the marketplace right away, or that big ideas happen in a flash. They don’t. It’s always (almost always) a matter of accretion. Drip, drip, drip. Improvements happen a bit at a time, not as grand-slam home runs that are easy to get.”
“If your organization requires success before commitment, it will never have either.”
Another powerful life-lesson students learn at our music school in Midland, Texas is that it is not the big moment that garners greatness, but the small incremental growth that happens each day. As the steady, consistent progress happens, it begins to accrue, and eventually exponential growth is seen.
“Great leaders embrace deviants by searching for them and catching them doing something right.”
“Albert Einstein said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ 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 manage without knowledge. You can’t lead without imagination.”
“People don’t’ 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.”
“What leaders do: they give people stories they can tell themselves. Stories about the future and about change.”
“In my experience, leaders don’t need to wait. There’s no correlation between money, power, or education and successful leadership. None…I can tell you this: leaders have nothing in common. They don’t share gender or income level or geography. There’s no gene, no schooling, no parentage, no profession. In other words, leaders aren’t born. I’m sure of it. Actually, they do have one thing in common. Every tribe leader I’ve ever met shares one thing: the decision to lead.”
“Every tribe is different. Every leader is different. The very nature of leadership is that you’re not doing what’s been done before. If you were, you’d be following, not leading.”
“You can choose to lead, or not. You can choose to have faith, or not. You can choose to contribute to the tribe, or not.”
“Once you choose to lead, you’ll be under huge pressure to reconsider your choice, to compromise, to dumb it down, or to give up. Of course you will. That’s the world’s job: get you to be quiet and follow. The status quo is the status quo for a reason.”
“But once you choose to lead, you’ll also discover that it’s not so difficult. That the options available to you seem really clear, and that yes, you can get from here to there. Go.”