First Thoughts about Tribes

I’m in Terre Haute for a fraternity “Official Visit” of the Gamma Omega chapter at Indiana State University. In my down time between meetings I’ve got started reading Tribes by Seth Godin (another book getting me motivated to create change!). I’m about a third through the book, but I wanted to put some things in writing to see what others think.

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.” “A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”

I’m a member of a lot of formal tribes: church, professional groups (AIA, CSI, DBIA), ACE Mentoring, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, InterDesign, probably others... I’m also a member of a lot of online tribes at Facebook, LinkedIn, IndyLink, Smaller Indiana, others, several blogs I follow… These fit the definition of a shared interest and a way to communicate.

“Tribes need leadership.” “You can’t have a tribe without a leader – and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.”

As I continue reading, I agree that you can’t have a tribe without some leadership. Considering my tribes, many aren’t going anywhere. They have the common interest and a leader is there to maintain a way to communicate, but it isn’t leading to a change. Tribe members are all growing together, but so are those outside of these tribes …

“Some tribes are stuck.” “Every one of those tribes, though, is a movement waiting to happen, a group of people just waiting to be energized and transformed.” “All that’s missing is leadership.”

WOW, that sums up the world I live in! Most of my tribes are stuck. No clear, clairvoyant leaders, just managers that keep a way to communicate (scheduled meeting times, topics of interest…). The tribes are just floating… They stick to traditions, not understand the origins. All want to grow members, but for the purpose of revenue or simply more people to talk to. Now is the time to be challenging the status quo and questioning why the tribe is worth the time and effort. The potential is enormous!

“…tribes are everywhere now…” “Every one of these tribes is yearning for leadership and connection. This is an opportunity for you – an opportunity to find or assemble a tribe and lead it. The question isn’t, Is it possible for me to do that? Now, the question is, Will I choose to do it?”

As the Jesus said in the bible “the fields are white for the harvest,” opportunities to teach others the gospel abound. Opportunities to lead abound as well. I recognize this, that’s why I’m a leader everywhere I go, but I’m not creating a groundswell, not yet. I’ve diluted my time with too much...

As I continue in this book and my own self exploration, I’ll share more down the road. I would like to challenge those reading to look at the need around you for change. Where is your passion? How do you contribute to your tribes to benefit those in the tribe and the leader(s)? Can you do more? Are you the leader they need?