Robert and Daphne Mallory are a husband and wife writing, editing and marketing team in the business and telecommuting sector. A former journalist and an attorney, they consult with political campaigns, large corporations, small businesses and anyone else that needs a kick in the pants to make their dreams come true.
You probably didn’t get into business with the idea that you would be a tribe leader, but according to bestselling author and marketing expert Seth Godin, that’s exactly what it takes to transform an idea into a profitable business. In his book “Tribes”, Godin lays out a simple principle: Tribes are a group of people who are connected to one another, a leader and an idea. They are everywhere, and they yearn for and need a leader who will connect them to one another.
What’s Your Tribe?
If you think tribes are only for community organizers or political activists, think again. Tribes are all over and you belong to at least one. For example, there are music tribes, mom tribes, software developer tribes and many more. Your business idea is connected to a tribe that you must get to know and love. That tribe is most likely already gathering together online or offline, and they need you to lead them.
Lead Your Tribe
Your success as an entrepreneur directly correlates to your ability to lead your tribe. It can be an internal tribe made up of employees in your organization, or an external tribe in cyberspace. The good news is that tribe members will pull in other members for you and are the best evangelists for your product or services. But they need a leader, and that must be you. If you’re unwilling to lead, then your competitors will. The key to winning as an entrepreneur is to develop and exercise leadership skills.
The Spolsky Tribe
Godin opens his “Tribes” book with Joel Spolsky, a computer programmer who turned his dream into reality by identifying and leading a tribe comprised of computer programmers. Spolsky matches programmers with the best job opportunities. His focus on growing a movement in the computer world and connecting programmers to hiring managers has led to business success. He excludes outsiders, non-computer programmers, and has focused on meeting the needs of the programmers in order to build them up. He doesn’t view his business as just another job board. He sees himself as a leader to a tribe of programmers who rely on him to find the best jobs available.
6 Key Principles for Thriving Tribes
Leading a tribe is akin to leading a micro-movement. According to Godin, there are six principles to keep in mind:
- Transparency is your only option
- Your movement needs to be bigger than you
- Movements that grow, thrive
- Movements are made most clear when compared to the status quo or to movements that work to push the other direction
- Exclude outsiders
- Tearing others down is never as helpful to a movement as building your followers up
The hardest principle to accept by most new entrepreneurs is: Exclude outsiders. It’s easy to think that you can make more money if you include everyone in your tribe. The opposite is true. You’ll only end up spreading yourself thin and diluting your message. You’ll be more effective and efficient when you’re clear on who to exclude.
Before you create a business plan or launch a marketing campaign, get to know your tribe. Know their demographics, how they prefer to connect to one another and how best to lead them. Energize them and transform their lives, and they will reward you with income and additional tribe members.
