“Every marketer tells a story. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche Cayenne is vastly superior to a $36,000 VW Touareg, which is virtually the same car. We believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better, and look cooler, than $20 no-names…and believing it makes it true.
Synopsis: “A tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea.
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.
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.” -Audible
Opening thoughts:
I read Seth Godin’s other book Linchpin last month, which was my first time reading one of his works. I thought the book was phenomenal so I decided to pick up another book of his for this month. I remember hearing about this book in particular from other mentors of mine, so I finally chose to read it for this month.
Synopsis: “There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there’s a third team, the linchpins. These people invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there’s no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.
Linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organizations. Like the small piece of hardware that keeps a wheel from falling off its axle, they may not be famous but they’re indispensable. And in today’s world, they get the best jobs and the most freedom. Have you ever found a shortcut that others missed? Seen a new way to resolve a conflict? Made a connection with someone others couldn’t reach? Even once? Then you have what it takes to become indispensable, by overcoming the resistance that holds people back.” -Amazon
Opening Thoughts:
I’ve heard a lot about Seth Godin from Tim Ferriss and Ramit Sethi, but have never been exposed to his work directly. From what I remember, Seth is supposed to be somewhat of a writing guru and an well-known entrepreneur. If I’m not mistaken, Ramit credits Seth as being a mentor of his. I’ve had Seth’s other book Tribes in my to-read list for a while, and right as I was about to buy that book for this month, I came across this book in the recommended reads. It had even better and more reviews so I decided to go with this book as my first exposure to Seth.