Tribes: Why you need to be some kind of leader

Hugh McLeod has a must-read Q&A with Seth Godin, on Godin's new book, "Tribes."  Here's a taste:

The world has always been organized into tribes, groups of people who want to (need to) connect with each other, with a leader and with a movement. The products, services and ideas that are gaining currency faster than ever are ones that are built on a tribe.

Barack Obama has one, John McCain tried to co-opt one. Arianna Huffington has built the most popular blog in the world around one. Harley Davidson and Apple are titanic brands for the very same reason. They sell a chance to join a group that matters.

The punchline is that the only way to lead a tribe is to lead it. And that means that marketing is now about leadership, about challenging the status quo and about connecting people who can actually make a difference. If you can't do that, don't launch your site, your product, your non-profit or your career.

Get thee to Hugh McLeod's blog and read the rest. It's outstanding stuff.  And as you're reading it, think about what kind of leadership your organization can offer to people who are eager to connect with you.

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