100 Top Quotes From Tribes
In Tribes, marketing guru Seth Godin unveils the power of leadership and community-building in an increasingly interconnected world. With compelling insights, Godin challenges conventional wisdom about traditional marketing and advocates for a new approach to engaging with audiences. He argues that in today's digital age, individuals have the tools to connect with like-minded people and form tribes centered around shared passions and interests.
Drawing examples from history and contemporary society, Godin illustrates how influential leaders foster strong tribes by embracing authenticity, empathy, and a compelling vision. By doing so, they inspire others to follow and create a positive change in the world. Tribes is a thought-provoking call to action for individuals and organizations to embrace their roles as leaders and cultivate tribes that drive innovation, collaboration, and ultimately, societal transformation. (Tribes Summary).
Tribes Quotes
"A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”
"In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn't necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”
"The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.” (Meaning)
"Leadership, on the other hand, is about creating change you believe in.”
"How was your day? If your answer was "fine," then I don't think you were leading.”
"Change isn't made by asking permission. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later.”
"Life's too short" is repeated often enough to be a cliche, but this time it's true. You don't have enough time to be both unhappy and mediocre. It's not just pointless, it's painful. Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don't need to escape from.”
"Yes, I think it's okay to abandon the big, established, stuck tribe. It's okay to say to them, ""You're not going where I need to go, and there's no way I'm going to persuade all of you to follow me. So rather than standing here watching the opportunities fade away, I'm heading off. I'm betting some of you, the best of you, will follow me.”
"Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.”
"Remarkable visions and genuine insights are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths - whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it's over. If it were any other way, it would be easy."
"An individual artist needs only a thousand true fans in her tribe. It's enough.”
"Leaders lead when they take positions, when they connect with their tribes, and when they help the tribe connect to itself.”
"The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate.”
"If your organization requires success before commitment, it will never have either. Part of leadership (a big part of it, actually) is the ability to stick with the dream for a long time. Long enough that the critics realize that you're going to get there one way or another...so they follow.”
"Heretics must believe. More than anyone else in an organization, it's the person who's challenging the status quo, the one who is daring to be great, who is truly present and not just punching a clock who must have confidence in her beliefs. Can you imagine Steve Jobs showing up for the paycheck? It's nice to get paid. It's essential to believe.”
"The secret of being wrong isn't to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn't fatal. The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way. The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret of success.”
"It's not time,"" ""Take it easy,"" ""Wait and see,"" ""It's someone else's turn"" - none of these stalls are appropriate for a leader in search of change. There's a small price for being too early, but a huge penalty for being too late. The longer you wait to launch an innovation, the less your effort is worth.”
"Perfect is an illusion, one that was created to maintain the status quo. The Six Sigma charade is largely about hiding from change, because change is never perfect. Change means reinvention, and until something is reinvented, we have no idea what the spec is.”
"A fundamentalist is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his religion before he explores it. As opposed to a curious person who explores first then considers whether or not he wants to accept the ramifications. A curious person embraces the tension between his religion and something new, wrestles with it and through it, and then decides whether to embrace the new idea or reject it.”
"The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there.”
"What most people want in a leader is something that's very difficult to find: we want someone who listens...The secret, Reagan's secret, is to listen, to value what you hear, and then to make a decision even if it contradicts the very people you are listening to. Reagan impressed his advisers, his adversaries, and his voters by actively listening. People want to be sure you hear what they said - they're less focused on whether or not you do what they said.”
"Skill and attitude are essential. Authority is not. In fact, authority can get in the way.”
"Great leaders don't try to please everyone. Great leaders don't water down their message in order to make the tribe a bit bigger. Instead, they realize that a motivated, connected tribe in the midst of a movement is far more powerful than a larger group could ever be.”
"The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret of success.”
"A fundamentalist is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his religion before he explores it. As opposed to a curious person who explores first then considers whether or not he wants to accept the ramifications.”
"Marketing is the act of telling stories about the things we make—stories that sell and stories that spread.”
"Initiating is really and truly difficult, and that’s what leaders do. They see something others are ignoring and they jump on it. They cause the events that others have to react to. They make change.”
"In every organization everyone rises to the level at which they become paralyzed with fear.”
"Our culture works hard to prevent change.”
"Change isn’t made by asking permission. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later.”
"If the only side effect of the criticism is that you will feel bad about the criticism, then you have to compare that bad feeling with the benefits you’ll get from actually doing something worth doing. Being remarkable is exciting, fun, profitable, and great for your career. Feeling bad wears off.”
"Successful heretics create their own religions. You can recognize the need for faith in your idea, you can find the tribe you need to support you, and yes, you can create a new religion around your faith. Steve Jobs did it on purpose at Apple and Phil Knight is famous for doing it at Nike.”
"The secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong.”
"It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers. It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail. It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo. It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle. When you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed.”
"Real leaders don't care about receiving credit. If it's about your mission, about spreading the faith, about seeing something happen, not only do you not care about credit, you actually want other people to take credit. There's no record of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Gandhi whining about credit. Credit isn't the point. Change is.”
"Life’s too short to fight the forces of change. Life’s too short to hate what you do all day. Life’s way too short to make mediocre stuff.”
"We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism.”
"When you are leading a tribe, a tribe that you belong to, the benefits increase, the work gets easier, and the results are more obvious. That’s the best reason to overcome the fear.”
"The one path that never works is the most common one: doing nothing at all.”
"A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”
"In unstable times, growth comes from leaders who create change and engage their organizations, instead of from managers who push their employees to do more for less.”
"Faith is underrated. Paradoxically, religion is vastly overrated.”
"If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.”
"What people are afraid of isn’t failure. It’s blame.”
"When you hire amazing people and give them freedom, they do amazing stuff. And”
"It’s all a risk. Always. That’s not true, actually. The only exception: it’s a certainty that there’s risk. The safer you play your plans for the future, the riskier it actually is. That’s because the world is certainly, definitely, and more than possibly changing.”
"People don’t believe what you tell them. They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves. What leaders do: they give people stories they can tell themselves. Stories about the future and about change.”
"The secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal.”
"The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
"Whatever the status quo is, changing it gives you the opportunity to be remarkable.”
"The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way. The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret of success.”
"Begin to realize that the safest thing you can do feels risky and the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe.”
"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.”
"The first thing a leader can focus on is the act of tightening the tribe. It’s tempting to make the tribe bigger, to get more members, to spread the word. This pales, however, when juxtaposed with the effects of a tighter tribe. A tribe that communicates more quickly, with alacrity and emotion, is a tribe that thrives.”
"Heretics are the new leaders. The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements.”
"It's war that makes generals.”
"The only thing holding you back from becoming the kind of person who changes things is this: lack of faith. Faith that you can do it. Faith that it’s worth doing. Faith that failure won’t destroy you.”
"Fear of criticism is a powerful deterrent because the criticism doesn't actually have to occur for the fear to set in. Watch a few people get criticized for being innovate, and it's pretty easy to convince yourself that the very same thing will happen to you if you're not careful.”
"There’s a difference between telling people what to do and inciting a movement.”
"What we’re seeing is that fundamentalism really has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with an outlook, regardless what your religion is.”
"Leadership almost always involves thinking and acting like the underdog. That's because leaders work to change things, and the people who are winning rarely do.”
"It’s more about a five- or ten- or fifteen-year process where you start finding your voice, and finally you begin to realize that the safest thing you can do feels risky and the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe.”
"If your organization requires success before commitment, it will never have either. Part of leadership (a big part of it, actually) is the ability to stick with the dream for a long time. Long enough that the critics realize that you’re going to get there one way or another so they follow.”
"In an era of grassroots change, the top of the pyramid is too far away from where the action is to make much of a difference.
"Think for a second about the people you know who are engaged, satisfied, eager to get to work. Most of them, I'll bet, make change.”
"Leaders who set out to give are more productive than leaders who seek to get."
"Tearing others down is never as helpful to a movement as building your followers up.”
"The thermostat, on the other hand, manages to change the environment in sync with the outside world. Every organization needs at least one thermostat. These are leaders who can create change in response to the outside world, and do it consistently over time.”
"The power of this new era is simple: if you want to (need to, must!) lead, then you can. It’s easier than ever and we need you. But if this isn’t the right moment, if this isn’t the right cause, then hold off. Generous and authentic leadership will always defeat the selfish efforts of someone doing it just because she can.”
"Initiative = Happiness”
"People yearn for change, they relish being part of a movement, and they talk about things that are remarkable, not boring.”
"I think most people have it upside down. Being charismatic doesn’t make you a leader. Being a leader makes you charismatic. There”
"A movement is thrilling. It’s the work of many people, all connected, all seeking something better.”
"Managers manage a process they’ve seen before, and they react to the outside world, striving to make that process as fast and as cheap as possible. Leadership, on the other hand, is about creating change that you believe in.”
"Industries don’t die by surprise. It’s not as if you didn’t know it was coming. It’s not as if you didn’t know whom to call (or hire). What was missing was leadership—an individual (a heretic) ready to describe the future and build the coalitions necessary to get there. This isn’t about having a great idea (it almost never is). The great ideas are out there, for free, on your neighborhood blog. Nope, this is about taking initiative and making things happen.”
"I’m imagining that your colleagues aren’t stupid. But when the world changes, the rules change. And if you insist on playing today’s games by yesterday’s rules, you’re stuck. Stuck with a stupid strategy. Because the world changed. Some organizations are stuck. Others move quickly. In a changing world, who’s having more fun?”
"The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate.”
"Flynn Berry wrote that you should never use the word “opportunity.” It’s not an opportunity, it’s an obligation. I don’t think we have any choice. I think we have an obligation to change the rules, to raise the bar, to play a different game, and to play it better than anyone has any right to believe is possible.”
"The organizations of the future are filled with smart, fast, flexible people on a mission.”
"Response is always better than reaction.”
"Leaders understand a different calculus. Leaders understand that change is not only omnipresent, but the key to success.”
"People don’t believe what you tell them. They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves.”
"The lesson is that one person with a persistent vision can make change happen, whether climbing rocks or delivering services.”
"That’s it—three steps: motivate, connect, and leverage.”
"When you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed. If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.”
"When you lead without compensation, when you sacrifice without guarantees, when you take risks because you believe, then you are demonstrating your faith in the tribe and its mission.”
"If religion comprises rules you follow, faith is demonstrated by the actions you take.”
"Tribes are about faith—about belief in an idea and in a community. And they are grounded in respect and admiration for the leader of the tribe and for the other members as well. Do you believe in what you do? Every day? It turns out that belief happens to be a brilliant strategy.”
"Instead, they realize that a motivated, connected tribe in the midst of a movement is far more powerful than a larger group could ever be.”
"More fashion = less need for quality”
"Generous and authentic leadership will always defeat the selfish efforts of someone doing it just because she can.”
"The secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal. The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way. The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret of success.”
"It’s really easy to insist that people read the manual. It’s really easy to blame the user/student/prospect/customer for not trying hard, for being too stupid to get it, or for not caring enough to pay attention.”
"What most people want in a leader is something that’s very difficult to find: we want someone who listens.”
"A fundamentalist is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his religion before he explores it.”
"Change is the first sign of risk.”
"The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on.”
"We start formal organizations when it’s cheaper than leading a tribe instead. Having employees, for example, gives you a tight interaction of communication and output that used to be difficult to accomplish from a less formal tribe.”
"Too many organizations care about numbers, not fans.”
"If you’re trying to persuade the tribe at work to switch from one strategy to the other, don’t start with the leader of the opposition. Begin instead with the passionate individuals who haven’t been embraced by other tribes yet. As you add more and more people like these, your option becomes safer and more powerful—then you’ll see the others join you.”
"The first thing a leader can focus on is the act of tightening the tribe. It’s tempting to make the tribe bigger, to get more members, to spread the word. This pales, however, when juxtaposed with the effects of a tighter tribe. A tribe that communicates more quickly, with alacrity and emotion, is a tribe that thrives. A tighter tribe is one that is more likely to hear its leader, and more likely still to coordinate action and ideas across the members of the tribe.”
"Leaders challenge the status quo. Leaders create a culture around their goal and involve others in that culture. Leaders have an extraordinary amount of curiosity about the world they’re trying to change. Leaders use charisma (in a variety of forms) to attract and motivate followers. "
"Leaders communicate their vision of the future. Leaders commit to a vision and make decisions based on that commitment. Leaders connect their followers to one another. Sorry for the alliteration, but that’s the way it worked out. If you consider the leaders in your organization or community, you’ll see that every one of them uses some combination of these seven elements. You don’t have to be in charge or powerful or pretty or connected to be a leader. You do have to be committed.”
"The secret, Reagan’s secret, is to listen, to value what you hear, and then to make a decision even if it contradicts the very people you are listening to. Reagan impressed his advisers, his adversaries, and his voters by actively listening. People want to be sure you heard what they said—they’re less focused on whether or not you do what they said.”
"Part of leadership (a big part of it, actually) is the ability to stick with the dream for a long time. Long enough that the critics realize that you’re going to get there one way or another . . . so they follow.”
"Given that leaders can appear anywhere in an organization, it seems to me that the job of senior management is to find them and support them. Leaders have tribes of their own, and someone needs to lead those tribes.”
"Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths—whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it’s over. If it were any other way, it would be easy. And if it were any other way, everyone would do it and your work would ultimately be devalued.”
"Step one is to give the problem a name. Sheep-walking. Done. Step two is for those of you who see yourself in this mirror to realize that you can always stop. You can always claim the career you deserve merely by refusing to walk down the same path as everyone else just because everyone else is already doing it.”
"Great leaders embrace deviants by searching for them and catching them doing something right.”
"As a general rule, managers don’t like deviants. By definition, deviance from established standards is a failure for a manager working to deliver on spec. So, most of the time, most managers work hard to stamp out deviance (and the deviants who create it).”
"There’s no record of Martin Luther King, Jr., or Gandhi whining about credit. Credit isn’t the point. Change is.”
"They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves. What leaders do: they give people stories they can tell themselves. Stories about the future and about change.”
"Tribes are the most effective media channels ever, but they’re not for sale or for rent. Tribes don’t do what you want; they do what they want. Which is why joining and leading a tribe is such a powerful marketing investment.”
― Quotes from the book Tribes by Seth Godin
Tribes Author
Seth Godin is a highly influential marketing guru and author known for his groundbreaking insights on modern business and leadership. With an uncanny ability to distill complex concepts into simple, actionable ideas, Godin has revolutionized the way people think about marketing and entrepreneurship. He emphasizes the importance of "permission marketing," encouraging businesses to build meaningful relationships with their audience rather than resorting to interruptive advertising tactics. Godin's thought-provoking books, such as "Purple Cow" and "The Dip," have become essential reads for aspiring entrepreneurs and established executives alike. Through his writing and public speaking engagements, Godin consistently challenges the status quo, urging individuals and organizations to embrace change, take risks, and create remarkable products that stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
