Editorial Reviews:
A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It?s our nature.
Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger. But more important, they?re enabling countless new tribes to be born?groups of ten or ten thousand or ten million who care about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming.
And so the key question: Who is going to lead us?
The Web can do amazing things, but it can?t provide leadership. That still has to come from individuals? people just like you who have passion about something. The explosion in tribes means that anyone who wants to make a difference now has the tools at her fingertips.
If you think leadership is for other people, think again?leaders come in surprising packages. Consider Joel Spolsky and his international tribe of scary-smart software engineers. Or Gary Vaynerhuck, a wine expert with a devoted following of enthusiasts. Chris Sharma leads a tribe of rock climbers up impossible cliff faces, while Mich Mathews, a VP at Microsoft, runs her internal tribe of marketers from her cube in Seattle. All they have in common is the desire to change things, the ability to connect a tribe, and the willingness to lead.
If you ignore this opportunity, you risk turning into a ?sheepwalker??someone who fights to protect the status quo at all costs, never asking if obedience is doing you (or your organization) any good. Sheepwalkers don?t do very well these days.
Tribes will make you think (really think) about the opportunities in leading your fellow employees, customers, investors, believers, hobbyists, or readers. . . . It?s not easy, but it?s easier than you think.
Customer Reviews:
Displaying 1 to 5 of 64 total reviews (Page 1 of 13):
 Another terrific Seth Godin book!
I am a huge Seth Godin fan already but this book was probably my favorite. It really drives home the importance of building committed and loyal fans whether you are a company with products to sell or a church with people to serve. Highly recommend!  How to Survive the Recession
If you own a business your survival hinges on reading this book.
New competition enters your niche everyday, and your customer's only concern is who has the cheapest price.
Every business is quickly becoming a commodity.
But don't worry because there is a solution.
Create a following. A group of people that are excited about everything that you do and are fanatical about purchasing your products/service, over and over again.
Just like people that use Mac computers and ipods. They would rather fist fight an angry bear than buy a PC or a Zune.
This book will show you the basics on how to get the same results.
A new look at teams.
Tribes is written with many examples and real life situations. Seth Godin's style in this book makes it an easy read which makes the relaying of this valuable information interesting and absorbing.
You should also checkout the audio book narrated by Seth Godin. This is how I first discovered the book and later purchased the hardcover. Seth's reading holds the listener's interest as well. Mystical, yet grounded
Once again, Seth Godin hits a homerun! Tribes is, without a doubt, the best book I've ever read on marketing in the modern age. What I like best about Tribes is that it allows the reader to really get in touch with themselves. Marketing, it seems to say, is within each one of us. "Go away!" the book taunts, "You don't need me. Look inside yourself. The secrets to all your marketing dreams are curled up there like little children, waiting for you to wake them, teach them, guide them to a full and happy life." No tiki huts or drumming, just a remarkable vision
The idea of a tribe isn't new. Man (and woman) have formed tribes since the dawn of time - for safety, food, socializing and survival. Fast forward past Cro-magnon man and you'll see, technology and the times change, but people don't.
The "tribe" instinct - the thing inside us that drives us to join a gang, the geeks, the jocks, the nerds, the greasers and later the church, the Rotary, a fraternity or sorority is still intact. The need to form a tribe to survive never left us. But instead of dinosaurs and invading armies, we need to survive peer pressure, office politics, business competition and a host of other assaults on our particular group.
The industrial age was gathering momentum and a top-down power strategy, and the crush to form tribes was sublimated - into Scouting, Tupperware Parties and religious organizations. The popular leadership books about power dwelt more on what to wear (power ties - suits and business attire), how to survive office politics (Machiavelli) and "management" of resources (ie. people as capital, not human beings).
If you've spent any time on the internet you know at first glance it's a web of lonely people, horny teens (and adults), marketers, snake oil salesmen, tin-hat conspirators, politicians and those same groups we all met growing up. Dig deeper and you find just as many, or more, people wanting to save the world, the rain forests or the downtrodden. There are those determined to help others, to make the world a better place and improve the lot of us all. It's a world worth saving - and possible to save - if we understand the renewed role tribes will have in the world in the coming decades.
Tribes? We all know them - just by a different name, club, fraternity, group, team. Seth Godin connects the dots, lights the candle in the darkness of our dim awareness, and leads the reader on a quick tour of the history of tribes - ie. The Grateful Dead, and lesser known entrepreneurs who *got it* and learned that tribes need leaders. Pre-internet, one person needed a lifetime of influence to make a change. Now one person with a YouTube.com account can impact the world in 24 hours with the right video. The power quotient has shifted. Just as blogging took power out of the hands of the elite and put it into the hands of the ordinary citizen, so learning how to find, form and lead a tribe.
It's a quick read - only 147 pages. Godin uses many, many, many examples to get his point across, and a few more in-depth essays that detail the specifics - such as how he used a newsletter to unite a tribe and accomplish a goal early in his career. If you're looking for a how-to book, heavy on the step (1), step (2) and step (3) guide to becoming a leader, this isn't it.
It is a visionary overview of the significance, importance and potential of tribes, where they're found, how they've impact society and how they will continue to shape the world in the decades to come. If you're currently a leader, or wondering if you have it in you to be, Seth's answer is yes. You don't have to lead an Army into battle, although you might. You can also lead your family, your church, your office, your running club or whatever "tribe" you belong to that is looking for a leader.
Excellent read and of all Seth's books, the most passionate and personal and a remarkable vision. Definitely recommend it. More Customer Reviews:
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(64 reviews)
