Tribes is one of Seth’s heavy hitters, and this years sees it’s 10th anniversary! I hear this book referenced the most of all of his, alongside The Dip, Purple Cow and Linchpin.

Tribes is a call to action, as evidenced in the subtitle is “We Need You to Lead Us”. In this book, Seth identifies a core principle of being human, that we all need connect and form tribes. What is a tribe? Its a group of people who are connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. Thats it! Yeah, seems simple and when it works it is, but getting there is the hard work that he spells out a little further in books such as Linchpin.

With the realisation that the Internet isn’t a mass-marketing tool, but a micro-marketing opportunity, tribes are the first place to go to think about how change can happen. Of course, tribes need a leader, someone who isn’t afraid to take risks and challenge the status quo. The thing is, everyone in a Tribe can be a leader, a linchpin on their own. In fact, it’s expected. No more following the herd.

To tie it back to marketing, Seth tells us that “Marketing used to be about advertising, and advertising is expensive. Today, marketing is about engaging with the tribe and delivering products and services with stories that spread.”. This is the perfect accompaniment to “All Marketers and Liars/Storytellers”.

Tribes outlines the conceptual framework for collaborating with others in a meaningful and powerful way in order to make change happen. Its powerful, full of clear and propelling thoughts and ultimately negates any excuse we might have for thinking that we can’t connect to create change in the world.

Go go go!