Catalyst 08 w/ Seth Godin

Seth Godin – (Seth gave every one in the Catalyst audiece his new book, Tribes!)
More people to touch, more interaction, more goodness, more growth…
Not a lot of tactics, but a lot of strategy.

How do we grow?
Marketers used to grow by advertising…
Marketers figured that interrupting people and poking… the model of cramming it down their throats doesn’t work any more… something that is better, more organic, more reliable… people talk to each other… who else is going to be there?? And who is going to lead us??

The idea of tribes… people like to tdo things with eachother. There used to be only 3 tribes: church, community and work tribes.

To be part of a tribe… makes people feel good. Connection… the internet has allowed the pockets of differences to stick together…. Tells people what we stand for , who we are… people like being w people they like being with…

Tribes at work – part of our identity…
A crowd is not the same is the tribe – a grop of people, self selected, always with a leader, connected… tribes have insiders and outsiders. We definie ourselves by who isn’t there as well. Crowds don’t matter. What matters is how connected people are. The more powerful your connections are… the more valuable…. Having leverage… connect those fans to eachother…. Tribes work within organizations. Build a platform where people can connect.

You lead a tribe…. Used to be a one directional leadership motion
Tribes want a cultural movement… if you want to grow, then a cultural movement is what you want!

When you work with a tribe, and understand the strategies behind what you are doing, then there is more growth. It is not a top down thing. It is a side to side thing.
It is important to them. The idea that there is somthg vital to who you are and who you connect to when it really matters. You can make the tribe tighter. You can make the tribe bigger. – marketing management is now tribal leadership.

The idea that everyone wants to join your tribe is naive…
Tactics for building a tribe…
There are a million tools to choose from…

Find someone who is naturally leading and give them a platform.
Start with 1000 true fans. Or maybe 10. Who can be persuaded and led and inspired?

The first thing that works is that you have to do something that people can criticize.
Things that tribes do to grow:
Find people that thought they were alone in the world
Find people that always knew there were people like them

It is about leading, not controlling…
Sheepwalking is another giant problem – no one follows those people.
No one follows who is mediocre. If you are in the middle of the bell curve, then you won’t grow.

I am begging you to become heretics - Someone whose faith is so deep that they are willing to deal with critics b/c they believe that they are right. Doing something that they believe in and something that matters. There is a giant distinction between faith and religion. Heretics challenge the religion and embraces the faith. Controlling through a series of rules squelches the growth. The rules get piled on… sometimes heretics seek out a rule and break it on purpose. Acknowledge their faith but not let the rules stand in the way. Push against the boundaries.

You can lead
Leadership is the same thing as marketing and marketing is the same thing a as leadership
Challenge the tribe
Intentionally create a culture for the tribe
They have curiosity – always pushing probing finding out what is next
Charisma – you get charisma b/c you are a ldr.
Communicate – they figure out how and when and where to talk WITH, not TO the tribe
Connect – how to connect the tribe… let the people talk to eachother
Leaders commit – they do things that are often uncomfortable

The tribe wants to connect and create meaning.. they want to make a difference in the world. They want to be noticed. They want to matter and they want to be missed.

I want to inspire you to be inspiring.. it doesn’t have to be something right out of a movie…
"4V2" – Is the decision you got to make every day …
Are you do something 4 the tribe or 2 the tribe?? - "4V2"