We have heard people saying,
"You should have the charisma to become a leader".
"Leaders are born" blah...blah...blah, Seth throws fresh light on this school of thought.
Understanding Charisma:
Think about the charismatic leaders you've encountered. They might be young or old, rich or poor, black or white, male or female, extroverted or shy. Infact, the only thing they seem to have in common is that they are leaders.
I think most people have it upside down. Being charismatic doesn't make you a leader. Being a leader makes you charismatic.
There are leaders with speech impediments and a fear of public speaking. Leaders way down the corporate ladder and leaders with no money or obvious trappings of power. There are ugly leaders too, so charisma isn't about being attractive.
It's easy to give into your fear and tell yourself that you don't have what it takes to lead. Mostly, people give up when they get to the charisma part of the checklist. "I wasn't born charismatic, not like those guys, so I guess I'll settle for following."
The flaw in this reasoning is that those other guys weren't born charismatic either. It's a choice, not a gift.
Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change.
This book contains several real life examples of leaders who share a common DNA, they are fearless heretics. They are the new leaders. They challenge the status quo. They believe in their idea, they are passionate about it and they are fearless. The market place now rewards the heretics.
All Human beings can't help it; we need to belong. One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be a part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like minded people. We are drawn to leaders and to their ideas, and we can't resist the rush of belonging and the thrill of the new.
Seth is a great story teller; he keeps your attention through out the journey of the book. Talks about how a single person's vision of Wikipedia has formed a huge tribe. Seth, teaches you how the internet has given the tools and knowledge to create tribes of all kinds, wine enthusiast, Joel on running a software company, How Barack Obama can raise 50 Million in twenty-eight days.
Seth explains how a factory centric culture is thing of the past; it is for the first time ever, everyone in an organization- not just the boss-is expected to lead. Seth drives away the myth that only people in authority or specific privileges can initiate change; anyone who is passionate about something can lead and they will have a tribe sooner or later that would follow them.
These Leaders are not looking for credit, they are passionate about their idea/change, they care about their tribe, and they are not worried about what the whole wide world thinks of them. Seth gives a very apt example of Nokia and Apple. All the while, Nokio was making phones for the masses, but apple didn't make their iphone for the whole world they did it for their tribe, people who followed the tribe with faith, communicated among themselves and with their leader - Steve Jobs through blogs, forums etc.,
This book, Tribes will make you really think and it will help you understand the opportunities and what it takes to lead your employees, customers, friends, community etc., now, to which tribe do you belong?
I highly recommend this to people I care, you don't want your competitors to read this, it is full of great content. This is the first Seth Godin book I read and instantly became his fan, will write about his other great creations shortly. Check out Seth's Blog http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/bio.asp one of the top 100 business blogs you could find and click on his bald head:-)
I give a 4.5/5.0. Please share your thoughts and comments about tribes here.
Great Review, Suresh! I agree, Many of our great leaders were not charismatic but their powerful words drew millions of people towards them.
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