A 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.
If you think leadership is for other people, think again-leaders come in surprising packages. Consider Joel Spolsky
and his international tribe of scary-smart software engineers. Or Gary Vaynerhuck, a wine expert with a devoted
following of enthusiasts. Chris Sharma leads a tribe of rock climbers up impossible cliff faces, while Mich Mathews,
a VP at Microsoft, runs her internal tribe of marketers from her cube in Seattle. All they have in common is the
desire to change things, the ability to connect a tribe, and the willingness to lead.
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 doingyou (or your organization) any good. Sheepwalkers don't
do very well these days.
Tribes will make you think (really think) about the opportunities in leading your fellow employees, customers,
investors, believers, hobbyists, or readers. . . . It's not easy, but it's easier than you think.