Tribes

We Need You to Lead Us

By: Seth Godin

Narrated by: Seth Godin

Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

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 a 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.

©2008 Do You Zoom, Inc. (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Get to the point!!!

We tried, really hard, on a long road trip to get past Seth Godin's annoying delivery style (so slow and he over enunciates everything!) and his continual promise of "I'm going to tell you..." or "you'll learn it here..." without him actually doing that. But after almost 3 hours we couldn't take it anymore. He says the same thing over and over and there wasn't much new here that delivered on his huge promises. Skim it in a bookstore and you'll get what you need.

Leadership

This book hit the spot for me. I thought the reader was really good. If you are someone that is just getting into Leadership or need to renew your Leadership skills, this is a good book. Well worth listening too.

the worst audio book ever

I never write reviews. But this book was so bad I had to warn others.

First of all the narration was awful. But I decided to listen further hoping the content is better than the narrator. It was a jumble of obvious and same old ideas. Do not waste your money and time on this book.

a bit too repetitive

The concept is interesting: that the social experience can be categorized into groups called tribes. The problem is the concept is too simple for a book. I found the author repeating the same terms. The repetition sounded like autocratic calls to allegiance. (We need you!) This content would be better suited for 40-page paper.

Overly simplistic attempt at inspirational writing

What disappointed you about Tribes?

The content doesn't rise to the level of social science, but lies somewhere in that area of "social media science" where if I can come up with a few examples (which may not be directly linked to the phenomena I am trying to explain) then I must be on to something.

If you’ve listened to books by Seth Godin before, how does this one compare?

NA

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator is a bit monotone at times. Seth could have hired a voice actor to spice it up.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Tribes?

This book is extremely repetitive. I feel that I got the point and lost interest within the first 20 minutes.

Kernals in the Chaff

Overall worth the read. There are things to get past as other reviews point out, but does provide great kernels of wisdom. It did take a second listen to pick out all of the points.

Fantastic

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to better understand why Managers are not wired to be Leaders and why so few people choose to be Leaders. In addition, you will come away with a new appreciation for the next person you cross paths with that is referred to as a "heretic".

Tribal Manifesto

Godin's manifesto (and I use that description in the best sense of the word) convincing makes the case that the most dangerous thing we can do at work and in our careers is play it safe. Suspend your critical eye and realist orientation for just long enough to be swept into Godin's passion. Allow yourself to be inspired. Read, share, and decide to lead your tribe. We will be discussing this book together at work - so more to come on if inspiration can be translated on the ground

Good content, a little difficult to listen to

Let me start by saying I am a fan of Seth Godin. I've read most of his work and read his blog daily. Overall this books was good, however Seth's writing style (in this case) does not make for great audio experience. He tends to write his chapters in sub-sections with various titles. This makes for some choppiness in the audio that you really need to pay attention to or you might get lost. Once you get used to this the book is a good listen and if taken to heart can be powerful for any one.

Seemingly good ideas based on anecdata

I recently took part in a leadership course designed for young scientists. The course was inspiring but I was frankly amazed that even though the course was for scientists, the scientific basis of the material was dubious to say the least.

The same is true for this book. On the surface the advice in this book makes sense. Be a heretic, have faith, pursue your idea. This is what leaders do! It is of course easy to think of many people who followed this recipe and became famous world leaders or multi-billionaire entrepreneurs, and the author use such examples to backup the advice given.

However, although anecdotes and inspiring examples are nice, scientifically speaking they don't hold much water. Is it always good to have faith, and to follow your own path? Aren't there also people who follow these principles who are seen as stubborn idiots? These people, unlike the ones who ‘make it’, receive no media attention.

The bottom line is that one can find examples of almost anything - which makes them close to meaningless. Until then, the jury is still out. And hence when it comes to the advice in this book I would also say that the jury is still out.

Terrible

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Take one semi common sense idea and repeat over and over and over and over. The whole thing could have fit in one paragraph. Fleshed out into a book in order to con people and make money which sums up Mr Godin's philosophy really.

What could Seth Godin have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Some concrete ideas and steps to succeed would have help. Don't recommend people walk out of their jobs here and now if they are unhappy. Don't tell people not to worry about the product. We don't need factories? How were your books produced and marketed? Who made your smart phone and computers Mr Godin?

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Nope

Tremendous

What did you like most about Tribes?

Godin makes it very clear what won't work, what will, and distils the necessity of leading.

I'd recommend his blog first if you're not convinced enough to buy. And if you're not convinced because you think it's not long enough (value for money), consider it like a single malt whisky. It'll age well, it's not dilute, and it's invaluable.

Any additional comments?

Don't expect a list of tips and tricks.

When the student is ready...

I had to drive 15hrs in one day, this book is less than 4hrs long, it contains so much thought provoking information that I didn't have time to finish it; on my drive I was either listening or thinking!



I have known of Seth for many years, however I have never really 'noticed' Seth, until now. His style is infectious with a perfect balance of left hemisphere and then right hemisphere - like Brian Tracy suggests when communicating; 'windscreen wipers'... left then right then left etc.



Before reading this book I knew something was required, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Now I know the missing piece of the puzzle is leadership. If you are at the point in your career where you have so much to give but you are still not sure on the 'how' then this book is for you. Although Seth avoids 'how-to' information he provides just enough rope for you to work it out yourself.



Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. But only if you are ready to hear/read what it means to you - no more hiding, no more shying away, no more fear. I knew I should admire Seth, now I know why I do.



Enjoy :- )

Reads like a parody of self-improvent

Unfortunately I did not enjoy the content and ideas behind this book which ordered nothing new. It reads like a parody of the genre.
The impression I had was that it was written through a systematic bunch of Google searches.

I have to give credit to the author for managing to get me to buy it though with the impression it might have something profound beneath it's cover. Nice one Seth!

Lead with a strong clear manifesto

The author shares insight required to lead in this social media dominated times. The stories and examples also encourages involvement to influence changes.. A good read!

Emotional commitenta of leadership

Good book that covers a generic view of the key drivers behind leadership. Belief and wholeheartedness seem to be the orders of the day. Not a world changer for me... Lacked some inspiration which Seth so keenly talks about.

Rubbish

This book title leads people to believe it is about remote tribes that have never met the outside world & its modern day influences. The only thing this book has taught me is to thoroughly read the book description before wasting valuable credits on wasted material which both takes up money & wasted memory.
Just beware people to read the total book description people so the same doesn't happen to you.

Great

Would you listen to Tribes again? Why?

Yes, insightful and full of great ideas

What about Seth Godin’s performance did you like?

I always like to way he speaks and presents

So disappointing

It's kind of like a pep talk for over three hours telling you nothing of real value throughout. Very occasional minor points of interest but lacking in substance as so much in marketing generally does.

Seth Godin gives me permission to be brave!

At a time when I am deciding whether to stay in my well paid comfortable job or go out on my own following my passions - Seths words have injected enough belief and confidence in myself not to be swayed by the status quo of popular opinion! I'm going for it! Thank you Seth