The New Leverage – Everything Old is New Again! Tribes vs Community
The definition of a Tribe is a group of people, large or small who are connected to one another, by an innovative leader and an idea. The definition of a Community is a group of dedicated individuals coming together to achieve common goals
I’ve written about leverage before, and in this Blog I’m taking it to the next level. I’m a huge fan of writer, Seth Godin, and his book Tribes, has given me plenty of new food for thought. Not only has he given new meaning to leverage, he has provided the glue that cements my beliefs. I often refer to a sense of community when I want to bring people together. Reading Tribes, really maximizes using ethical leverage to succeed.
In Tribes, Godin creates a number of visuals for his analogies – with a long enough crowbar we can rip nails out of a board. With a long enough teeter-totter we can lift a sumo wrestler. With enough leverage we can change our company, our industry and our world.
How then can we find the best way to “leverage” ourselves? Think about it – today we have social media where we can reach millions with a single “tweet”.
Am I an advocator for using social media and all it entails? You bet! But I don’t do it all myself – I use leverage of “my tribe”.
I’m facilitating a Mentoring/Mastermind Group that is a new tribe, one that will be able to monitor and measure their results because of the leverage they have by using each others strengths.
Again according to Godin, “for a tribe to be effective and create measurable results you need three steps – motivation, connections and leverage.
Since everyone in my network is generating an action plan that is motivating, using connection and leverage that will take them where they want to go, they are now part of a Tribe!
In the “old days” tribes were more localized – today, the web has changed all this, and with all the new technology, it makes it easier to find and nurture geographically dispersed tribes.
Today, I use Blog Talk Radio, Video Interviews, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to add value to being part of a Tribe.
I’m using social media leverage to help my tribe achieve measurable results.
Ultimately, Tribes is a book about leadership and community, and I found it to be an inspirational read and a roadmap for myself and those who are part of my network.
My favorite quotes on leadership:
“The very nature of leadership is that you’re not doing what’s been done before. If you were, you’d be following, not leading” – from Tribes – page 146
“The Elements of Leadership are quoted below:
Leaders challenge the status quo. Leaders create a culture around their goal and involve others in their culture. Leaders have an extraordinary amount of curiosity about the world they’re trying to change. Leaders use charisma (in a variety of forms) to attract and motivate followers. Leaders communicate their vision of the future. Leaders commit to a vision and make decisions based on that commitment. Leaders connect their followers to one another. – from Tribes – page 126
When change is inevitable, find a leader who challenges what was, and moves you forward to what can be. For those of you who know me – I love the challenges of change and I invite you to become part of my Tribe in 2012.
It promises to be an incredible year for all us! I look forward to helping people in my network achieve their goals.
To my December 17th Tribe – I look forward to seeing your goals become realities! You have been part of the Tribe for 15 days, I will be reconnecting with all of you early in January to see what you have accomplished so far.
