Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Part 1 covers sections: “Tribes,” “Long, Strange Trip,” “Tribes Used to Be Local,” “In Search of a Movement, Tribes Aren’t So Squishy Anymore,” “How Was That Syrah?,” “The Tribe Inside,” “The Opportunity,” “Something to Believe In,” “Why Should You Lead? And Why Now?,” “Leadership Is Not Management,” “It’s Good to Be King,” “Stability Is an Illusion,” “Partisans,” “Making A Ruckus,” and “Leading from the Bottom.”

Seth Godin introduces Joel Spolsky, a software company leader who took on a “tribal” leadership role. Joel’s tribe looks to his passion for inspiration. Godin establishes what a tribe is: a group of people joined by a leader, or a group of leaders with a shared idea. He emphasizes humans’ need for growth and change—two things Joel offers in his industry. A tribe cannot exist without leadership roles, and leadership roles cannot develop without a tribe.

The author shifts into a new anecdote to show how tribal leadership irrevocably transformed the music industry: The Grateful Dead’s success has hinged not on financial achievement but on cultural impact. Being a “Dead Head” involves a sense of belonging, appreciation of the music and lifestyle, and understanding of in-group references.