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tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). It’s our nature.
Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger. But more important, they’re enabling countless new tribes to be born—groups of ten or ten thousand or ten million who care about their iPhones, or a political campaign, or a new way to fight global warming. And so the key question: Who is going to lead us?
The Web can do amazing things, but it can’t provide leadership. That still has to come from individuals—people just like you who have passion about something. The explosion in tribes means that anyone who wants to make a difference now has the tools at her fingertips.
Find Your Tribe
If you ignore this opportunity, you risk turning into a “sheepwalker”—someone who fights to protect the status quo at all costs, never asking if obedience is doing you (or your organization) any good. Sheepwalkers don’t do very well these days.*
*Courtesy of – Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
As many animals are herd creatures and don’t do will in isolation. “Man” is a tribe creature. When I was in Rome studying architecture I learned that Ancient Greek architects realized that humans must be able to see each other in order to feel happy, safe and secure. Even if they were not directly interacting, they needed to see tribe members close by. So many of the huge social areas were constructed to allow humans their visually connect, even from far distances, with their tribe, family group, and social circle.
Well said, Kat! Another great quote from Seth: “Be genuine. Be Remarkable. Be worth connecting with.” Thanks for being all three!
What an interesting concept to learn about Kathleen – I didn’t realize that about Ancient Greek architects and what they had learned about the nature of human behavior. That is soooo inspirational! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, we need those Greek architects in the big box stores. It may be one fo the reasons I dislike them, so much. I can’t see over the top of the isles or the people in the other rows.
We humans, even the most introverted, need relationships. We learn more, grow more, experience more, understand more – and overall, we fare better through life when we are part of relationships. Family, friends, colleagues, members, teams, the power of one supported and shared with many becomes the influence of generations. When choosing a tribe, remember to choose wisely. BC360 has proven to foster a supportive learning environment for dialog, debate, and decision.
Quite frankly, Jane – you couldn’t have said it better, my friend. If we can borrow once again from Seth Godin; “Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they’d like to go. Every time we waste that opportunity, every page or sentence that doesn’t do enough to advance the cause is waste.”
I wanted to second that – could not have been said better Jane! In further support, the concept of tribes has been around for at least 3k years. Since the beginning of time, people have united together for many reasons – being together created a sense of safety against threats (or the enemy), eased responsibilities (like gathering food, tending to the young or elderly), and together the strength far outweighs any one individual alone.
As human beings, we were meant to be together. Creating a strong tribe, built on shared values, ethics, and integrity is quite a powerful front 🙂
I really like this, “tribes will be bound together by passion and purpose and inspired by a commitment to ‘mindful engagement” (Team 360, 2017).
Thank you Jennifer (and Jane) for adding real value to all that we do and for understanding and embracing the true meaning & value of tribes…
In the words of Margaret Mead –
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
… needs to be Tweeted by everyone!
Like the speaker. Saw another video where he was showing how a group of people would emulate behavior in a crowded setting. It involved one guy to start dancing. That got another guy dancing. That other guy became the leader and got everyone dancing.
sounds like Sasquatch Chris : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk
Yes. That was it.