Thoughts on Tribes

I recently read Seth Godin's book, Tribes. I am usually skeptical about applying business or management insight into church or ministry situations, but this book gave me all kinds of good insight. I want to post a few over the next few days. Here is the first couple of nuggets I want to pass along.

Tribes are about faith – about belief in an idea and in a community.

Many people are starting to realize that they work a lot and that working on stuff they believe in (and making things happen) is much more satisfying than just getting a paycheck and waiting to get fired (or die).

Consumers have decided, instead, to spend time and money on fashion, on stories, on things that matter, and on things they believe in.

(We need to avoid getting) stuck in industries that not only avoid change but actively fight it.

The new leaders are the ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of tribes, who create movements.

What does it take to create a movement?

There is a difference between telling people what to do and inciting a movement. The movement happens when people talk to one another, when ideas spread within the community, and most of all, when peer support leads people to do what they always knew was the right thing.

Great leaders create movements by empowering the tribe to communicate.