Tribes

A couple of weeks ago, I finished reading Seth Godin's book, Tribes. A short book, but packed with really great help for leaders who are passionate about doing something significant in our techno-savvy world. It was really helpful to see how the role of leadership is to help connect people who share a common cause or vision. It was a new way of thinking about leadership for me. A few notable quotes include:

"If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader."

"finally you begin to realize that the safest thing you can do feels risky and the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe."

"So great leaders don’t try to please everyone. Great leaders don’t water down their message in order to make the tribe a bit bigger. Instead, they realize that a motivated, connected tribe in the midst of a movement is far more powerful than a larger group could ever be."

"Settling is no fun. It’s a malignant habit, a slippery slope that takes you to mediocrity. Managers settle all the time. They don’t really have a choice because there are too many competing priorities. Heretics don’t settle. They’re not good at that. Managers who are stuck, who compromise to keep things quiet, who battle the bureaucracy every day—they’re the ones who settle. What else can they do? The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on."

(these are just a few, I had many!)

I recommend Tribes to anyone who is a leader or wants to be a leader.