What We Learned From Tribes

We are talking about Tribes by Seth Godin – Available to read or listen to; our personal preference is Audible, we tried running and reading and apparently it is just too dangerous.

We love to learn, it helps everybody, providing we put to use the stuff we have learned for good. That’s an important piece we believe a lot of people forget, they most likely are not reading this blog and that is perfectly OK.

Leaders Win For Two Reasons

Number one – leaders win because they do something different, they break the mould, they change the status quo, they provide an opportunity for something new, something that wasn’t there before until they stepped in and decided to lead.

Number two – Leaders change their followers. If it was not for leaders their followers wouldn’t be able to follow their beliefs.
Followers wouldn’t have the opportunity to benefit from the change that leaders create, the new avenues they open.

In it’s essence that is the message in Seth Godin’s book Tribes, there are leaders, not just one but many leaders who lead all sorts of beliefs. There are also followers, they choose to follow their own beliefs that the leaders represent and in turn the leaders choose to lead the followers who agree with their belief.

OK, so we may have confused you even more, sorry.

Think of it this way, you go out on a sunny day, and you go to a restaurant. There is barely any windows inside and there is a nice park with some dry seats and grass outside, perfectly clean and nicely shaded from the warm sun, the whole area outside is filled with the sweet smell of blossoming flowers.

So you go to order your food and you say to the waitress, “it’s such a lovely day outside isn’t it? I would really like to take my meal outside, that would be great, do you think it would be possible to order something to go?”

The waitress is unprepared for this suggestion, something she has not been asked before but welcomes it just like any suggestion in the past, “yes certainly, let me go ask my manager, I will see what I can do”.

The manager, equally unprepared for this new suggestion. He does however equally agree with your belief, to enjoy your meal in what is clearly a nicer location at that time. He makes a bold decision.

He leads, picking up a brown paper bag and some string he quickly creates the restaurants first ever “to go” packaging.

So the waitress returns, pleased that she can meet your needs and exceed your expectations, you leave the restaurant an incredibly satisfied customer and leader with your meal tucked in a brown paper bag neatly secured with a little string. You make your way over to your very own, newly founded dining spot.

No Credit Only Satisfaction

What happens next is remarkable, what happens next is the followers arrive.

People start to notice, they say to their friends as they approach the restaurant, “Hey why don’t we eat outside today? Wouldn’t that be a great idea?”

As if they had originally created the idea to do so themselves, that is OK though, leaders don’t need the credit.

So they go in, they ask for some food to go, the waitress responds “yeah sure I’ll ask the manger”, the manager has a brown paper bag and a little string at the ready and off the diners go, joining you in the newly founded eating spot. Arguably a nicer alternative at that time to the only choice that was originally being offered, they are following this belief.

From this, change sprouts like weeds, with the same tenacity too. Someone comes along to try and stamp out these ideas, well the weeds keep coming back, the change is ever changing, the horse has well and truly left the gate and it has taken the gate with it too.

Leaders Win, Always

Followers get to experience something they would not have had the foresight to act upon until a leader had presented themselves.

If the waitress had not followed the managers training and belief that all customers queries must be heard and passed onto the manager, there would be no story to tell.

Leaders feel the satisfaction of acting upon their belief and inspiring others to join them. Leaders do not need the credit, their is no value in that, the manager who decided to lead most likely will receive countless more benefits that trump the emptiness of credit not to mention the great fulfillment he feels from leading.

The owners of the restaurant may even become his followers believing in his idea to provide their customers with a “to go” option, to provide alternatives, creating an entirely new audience for the restaurant to engage with.

Leaders win, always.

That is what we learned from Seth Godin’s Tribes, we hope this has been as helpful for you as much as it has been for ourselves.