NF

A professor of business recommended this title the day i checked out [b:The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?|15843041|The Icarus Deception How High Will You Fly?|Seth Godin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355795227s/15843041.jpg|21595639]. Reading Godin titles back to back takes a bit of umph. Not only is his writing style somewhat choppy (i do love transitions), the thoughts presented jump from the page fresh and startling. This is good as the world created by the internet is astonishing and new -- I vividly remember clicking "send" on my first e-mail message in my 30's and thinking it was a big deal -- and Seth notices the newness and the possibilities and pitfalls it creates. I'd like Seth to move into deeper development of ideas, ala Daniel Pink combines observation, insight and solid crafting in his books. Still came away a bit more fired up about "choosing myself" and scribbled more than one memorable idea:

“Life’s too short” is repeated often enough to be a cliche, but this time it’s true. You don’t have enough time to be both unhappy and mediocre. It’s not just pointless, it’s painful. Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” ~ Seth Godin (101).

Now that I've read the book I'll go back to that business prof and see what conversation evolves. ( )

"Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us" is an easy read from Seth Godin that presents the case for why You should be leading. Everybody can inspire a tribe towards collective action, regardless of where they sit in an organisation, and this book challenges you to step up, lead and challenge the status quo.

There are some great snippets of information throughout, and I agree with most of what he is suggesting re Leadership, although there is also a hate message re Management that I think is a bit too strong. It is a good book for motivation and whilst not prescriptive in how to lead provides some good pearls of wisdom for leading in the digital age. ( )

A classic for a reason! Great ideas about how to lead and even though some of the book is dated now, the ideas are still clear and inspiring. ( )

3.5 stars - would be a good read for any managers in a company and see where often the talent gets frustrated or the opportunities missed. ( )

Kind of a parody of a business book -- all "inspiration" with no real content. ( )

This was right up my alley. It felt like it talked about a lot of things I post about on my web site. ( )

I don't understand what the big deal is with Seth Godin. I follow his blog and he rarely says anything that I find terribly insightful. Maybe it's the difference in our backgrounds - he comes from a management background and I come from theatre and the arts - but most of what he says is stuff that's pretty obvious to me. And he tends to try and make comparisons between things that are frequently incorrect. For example, in one recent blog post, he compared a Bentley to a Toyota and stated that the Toyota is clearly better made. No, it's not. That statement is completely wrong. Bentleys are among the best-built cars in the world (you're not just paying for exorbitant luxury, you're paying for top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art engineering) and will last longer than any Toyota could ever hope to!

Such incorrect, poorly informed statements are common enough from Mr. Godin that I've come to expect them more often than not.

More often than not, I find his pronouncements irritatingly condescending.

Bottom line - he's not as insightful as everyone tells him he is, and he doesn't know nearly as much about things outside his specific area of expertise as he thinks he does.

This is a very good book - but I can't get past my personal problems with the author when I read it. ( )

Sorry, Seth. I expected a lot more. The premise is fine and interesting. The delivery - not so much. Godin knows how to talk a lot and not say much, that's for sure. He does not say anything knew, either, especially not groundbreaking, and keeps repeating the same stuff that could've fit in 2 paragraphs. ( )

This book is a rallying call for people to become leaders. There's a couple of catchy leadership soundbites, but the book is mainly superficial. ( )

Another book on my quest to pick up management/leadership tips without going to a seminar. This book was fairly highly reviewed. As I read it, my opinion swung about wildly. The tone is very rah rah. The sentences are very short. The chapters are short. The anecdotes are short. The words are short. I often felt spoon-fed. Yet, at times it was effective. At times, inspirational. There were a few pieces of advice that made me hold the book at arm's length and pause to let them truly sink in. At least one of which I hope to actually put to action in my life.

So, yay? win? ( )

I enjoyed reading the book, nodding my head the entire time. So much of what Seth points out, I can relate to looking back at my own experiences in the past. I understand the power behind the tribe mentality, especially at the edge of major change. That's the time when everyone is looking for a leader - someone to offer a way to make sense and empower people to reach the new goals.
When I worked for a company that went from a single entrepreneur owner to a company on the stock exchange, everyone was afraid and those who banded together, created the commercial process that led us to success. The YCC culture was formed. There are so many ways to enrich our working lives, and personal lives - and this new POV is crucial in this century, which is set apart from other generations by the pure nature and volume of knowledge available, and the rate of changes we encounter. Being a curious person myself, and sometimes referred to as an instigator, now I realize it was just my own nature to jump at new ideas.

This book is a great tool for anyone who leads people, or is ever a member of a team effort. Everyone can be a leader, often the situation lends itself to rotate the head position, giving our projects an even balance. Lessons learned: Set the ego aside – turn up the curiosity - and always be a life learner. ( )

Thought-provoking quick read exploring what leadership really means in our new, flat world ( )

Great book on leadership and grassroots change. ( )

A short and nice read. Author delves into the intricacies of leadership, leaders and their inherent qualities, how they go on to create tribes and most importantly the difference between Leaders and Managers.

A short and nice read. Author delves into the intricacies of leadership, leaders and their inherent qualities, how they go on to create tribes and most importantly the difference between Leaders and Managers.

This book is a long diatribe on the merits of being innovative and noncoventional. The author speaks about the potential use of the internet to achieve a following for the cause of a leader. He appears to speak from experience and encourages others to follow his example. ( )

This book is based on the concept of "tribes", which Godin describes as a group of people with a shared interest. He discusses how each tribe is a movement waiting to happen, and that all it needs is effective leadership in order to make that movement a reality. He also discusses how the internet has made it easier to find "tribes", so therefore there is more potential groups to lead and make something happen with.

People interested in leading a group towards a specific cause or goal would probably get the most out of this resource.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
This is a fantastic look at leadership in the 21st century.

"How was your day? If your answer is 'fine," then I don't think you were leading" (P. 133).

One criticism is that it's a little bit too repetitive, it could have been even shorter with a few less name-drops and anecdotes.
One unusual insight is that Godin may hit the nail on the head for why we see an increasingly polarized culture. Godin remarks that your tribe should be exclusive. If someone else wants something slightly different, you shouldn't compromise. Let them go start their own tribe; keep yours exclusive. By not compromising you'll have fewer, but more hard-core and committed followers. Don't care about numbers, focus instead on "fans." Sound a little bit like the Republican Party (and various other organizations happy to be made up of an increasingly small but "pure" group) lately to anyone?

The book:
Godin is exhorting the reader to step out and lead, motivated by a particular idea (or set of ideas) that people can understand and get behind. To set forth on a Jerry Maguire-like manifesto that people can rally behind, assuring the reader that there are plenty thinking the same things you are that are just waiting for someone else to step out and lead. "Leadership...is about creating change that you believe in" (47).
It's easier than ever to form a tribe and bind them together. "Local" is relative. Examples are given from Facebook and Twitter, it's easier than ever for your tribe to communicate with one another and to work together to promote the tribe and attract more interested followers. People are also increasingly looking for "the thrill of the new," which is also essential to understanding leadership today (p.16). Gone are the days when stability and consistency were the way to go.
Factories focusing on routine, rote activity, and standard practices used to provide life-long careers, but no longer. "What you won't find in a factory is a motivated tribe making a difference. And what you won't find waiting outside the factory is a tribe of customers, excited about what's to come" (p. 112).

Now, people (like Godin) start little companies fully expecting them to fail, or expecting them to have a brief period of glorious success before the world/market/technology changes and it's time to move on. Godin encourages fearlessness, writing that most people actually fear criticism rather than failure. Failure and being wrong aren't fatal, they're helpful. "The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way" (p. 286).
Marketing has also never been easier or cheaper; it's easy to spread your idea and your tribe's story. Don't try to market to your rivals or enemies, focus instead on those who are likely to come over to your side. Focus your efforts on those who are already in your tribe, making others eager to join the tribe themselves. (Sound a little like Jesus in John 17:20-23?)

There are plenty of overt messages for the Church and faith-based entities in this book:
"Tribes are about faith--about belief in an idea and in a community. And they are grounded in respect and admiration for the leader of the tribe and for other members as well" (p. 35). But, the best leaders "reflect the light onto their teams...don't want the attention, but they use it...to unite the tribe and to reinforce its sense of purpose" (p. 140).

Godin contrasts a "fundamentalist" and a "curious person." The fundamentalist will reject any new information that might not fit into his religion, whereas the curious explores first and embraces the tension between new information and his religion before making an informed judgment (p. 174). Curious people are the ones who lead the "brainwashed masses" who have stopped moving.

Religion is a two-edged sword to Godin. Religion is the structure that helps support the idea of the tribe and helps to unite them in their common beliefs. But religion is also self-serving in that it is designed to prevent change and adaptation, even at the expense of our faith. Once established, it becomes easy to label as "heretic" anyone who challenges the status quo (p. 217-218). "Challenge religion and people wonder if you're challenging their faith," how many times have I run into that in my life? (p. 219). Godin's examples of creating religion around faith are Steve Jobs and Apple, Phil Knight and Nike.

Godin is careful to contrast leadership and management. Management reacts, while leaders respond or, better yet, initiate (p. 230). The only truly distinguishing characteristic of a leader is a decision to step out and lead.

I give this book 4 stars out of 5. Highly recommend it. ( )

A helpful outline of leadership strategy. Applicable to most circumstances. ( )

Good book. Not enough practical, how to advice. ( )

Horrible tripe, nothing original, author basically talks about himself. Me, me, me. ( )

Seth Godin's unconventional style prompts out-of-the-box thinking and inspires you to find your voice and your tribe of followers, for your sake and theirs. ( )

This is a book that started well, and then fizzled out very fast. I liked the beginning when he started to talk about tribes, the concept, about getting past your own fear to lead. This last part spoke to me. After this, it was an exercise in saying the same thing again and again in different ways. While a certain amount of creativity and persistence is required to be able to do this, I found the book to be remarkable short on depth, and high on self-promotion.

This is not a book that I recommend to anyone who is serious about going beyond themselves, and rising above the ordinary. You won't learn much from this book. ( )

I enjoyed this perspective on leadership, which goes beyond work and physical space to various aspects of life. Seth Godin encourages people to find their niche and be leaders, no matter their job description or personality type.

Some catch phrases Godin uses to describe leaders: communication, charisma (a variety of forms), communication, curiosity, connections with others and among followers, culture. ( )