Date read: 2020-08-3. How strongly I recommend it: 7/10
If you are looking for a "How to" book on leadership with action steps, this book is not for you—that's according to the author himself, the great Seth Godin. Now, if you already have that leadership bug within you, you will find this book inspiring and make you think about how to create a tribe of your own.
In the best Seth Godin style (You should follow his daily blog), You get a dose of clarity on how leadership works, and it might give you the push to be a little braver. Amazon
My notes and thoughts:
Most of us are stuck in fear of what our boss will say, stuck because we’re afraid we’ll get into trouble. We are acting like managers or employees, instead of like the leaders we could become.
Change? Change is frightening, and too many people who would be leaders, it sounds more of a threat than a promise. That’s too bad, because the future belongs to our leaders, regardless of where they work or what they do.
Marketing is the act of telling stories about the things we make. Marketing elects presidents, and marketing raises money for charity. I need to use my marketing skills to sell more ideas.
There are two things that can turn a group into a tribe: A shared interest and a way to communicate. Two, The communication can be one of four kinds:
Leader to tribe
Tribe to leader
Tribe member to tribe member
Tribe member to outsider
A moment has three elements: A narrative that tells a story about who we are and the future we’re trying to build. A connection between and among the leader and the tribe. Something to do—the fewer limits, the better.
I need to continue creating newsletters within Autodesk, but need to make it more about the mission
What people are afraid of isn’t failure. It’s blame. Criticism. We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism. “That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard!” “What a waste of money.” “Who’s responsible for this?"
The first thing a leader can focus on is the act of tightening the tribe. A tribe that communicate more quickly, with emotion, is a tribe that thrives.
If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.
Participating isn’t leading: Showing up isn’t sufficient. Friending ten or twenty or a thousand people on Facebook might be good for your ego but has zero to do with any useful measure of success.
You should look for your tribes passion
Be the spirit of the tribe. Be passionate, help others, raise to level by doing great things.
It’s about your mission, about spreading the faith, about seeing something happen, not only should you not care about credit, you actually want other people to take the credit. There’s no record of Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi whining about credit. Credit isn’t the point. Change is.
Why not you, Why not now? No one gives you permission or approval or a permit to lead. You can just do it. The only one who can say no is you.