Have been busy tweaking and seo’ing my other sites for the last couple of months so reading has taken a bit of a back seat. But now am up to date (and totally brain drained from it all) so moving back to my pile of books.

Currently reading The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell and should finish this today or tomorrow. After reading The Outliers have become a huge fan of Gladwell and cliff notes for Blink will be coming straight after The Tipping Point.

Other than that, there is still some fiction to review, but so many great non-fiction works are coming out at the moment, that fiction is being put on the back burner, but I’ll get to it, addict that I am.

Thanks and enjoy and share.

For a little book, this is packed full of gold nuggets and at times it feels like Seth Godin is just downloading his brain, which is actually priceless.

Tribes looks at the development of groups, especially niche groups which forms tribes - with or without you - and the value that is apparent in taking a leadership role of these groups.

Godin contends that people are desperate to believe in the elusive ’something’ whether it’s animal welfare, software, tattoos, or orchids. But with this desperation, the despair is the collective sigh of all going nowhere believing in the one thing. This is where leadership enters the Tribes equation.

Godin looks at what makes a leader as opposed to a follower, what core values are needed and why so many don’t take up the challenge and why, it is essential that someone step up to the plate. He challenges our core fears of failure, apathy, discontent, the status quo and why all these fears need to be challenged and conquered - immediately.

Some of the core ideas include Leadership is Not Management, and with this, managers are not necessarily leaders. He cites examples of a single memo that changed the course of a company, written by an employee who rose to lead the company forward.

In these changing times, Godin warns that the market place is changing so rapidly that leaders need to rise to negotiate that change and in fact drive it forward. He demonstrates this with a study of Wikipedia, The Grateful Dead and many others, each filled with the smallest of golden tips.

He clarifies profoundly the difference between fans and followers. A follower is passive, who likes what you do and what you’re on about. A fan is an evangelist for you.

The balloon factory and the unicorn is one core example Godin uses to demonstrate how the status quo must be fought and why it is at times near impossible, but the key to hold onto, is that it is not impossible. With true leadership, someone who clearly demonstrates a mission statement and allows communication and activity between those who agree, can lead anyone, anywhere to do anything.

He talks extensively about the value of the heretic and how important it is to now listen to these people. Apart from this, Godin emphasises the need for these heretics to take charge of their own destiny and to lead. Sheepwalking versus tribe management and leadership is clarified. There are many sheep but very few shepherds.

In summary he looks at the key negators to leadership namely, timing and Not Now Not Yet, asks if Not Now When in such a way that you just can’t not disagree. By understanding care and charisma, elements of leadership including listening and mediocrity, he asks in conclusion Why Not You and Why Not Now?

There are no easy steps to leadership, no plan laid out or magic formula. But the totality of the information in this work equips the reader with a new outlook on what it takes to lead and who in fact you will be leading - but most importantly - WHY.

This is another one of those books to add to your collection if you’re a thinker or want to know more about the mechanics of leadership and social change.

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I had some reservations about this at the start, given that it’s about a man who meets god at the site where his daughter was murdered but I was prepared to see how the author handled it and apparently it’s a best seller.
The first third of the book, as already mentioned, is really well written and detailed the events surrounding the death of the daughter well. She gets abducted from a campsite by a known pedophile and is later slain at The Shack and her body is never recovered.

Thencomes the interesting part, when Mack, father of Missy, finds a note from god in his letterbox asking him to meet him at The Shack. Although he feels it might be a trap by the killer or he may be losing his mind, his curiosity wins and he goes.

After tearing the shack apart in a fit of grief and rage when god isn’t there, he attempts to leave only to be met by a ‘miracle’. The snow melts, the shack returns to its original state and is surrounded by green fields with wild flowers and singing birds.

Then in comes ‘god’ A black woman Elouisa, a guy called Jeshua and another woman called Sarayu. Some interesting theology based conversaton ensues and I began to have hope until ” We created you to share….Adam chose to go it on his own, as we knew he would, and everything got messed up”

I read another ten pages and decided it’s not worth my time. I was OK to go along with the ‘god’ theory but the creationist stuff is just too much to swallow for me. I was raised a catholic so don’t leave disparaging comments or try to convert me. I have an open mind in all things but please, Adam? I was hoping for something more insightful.

Next on the list is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which I abandoned to finish The Shack.

This is quite a small book, relatively speaking, but a deceptively long read. Written by WM. Paul Young, it’s the story of a man who returns to the scene of the murder of his young daughter, called there by ‘God’.
I’m just at the interesting part now, about a third of the way through, after the gruelling first part detailed the circumstances of the death of the daughter.

Full cliff notes tomorrow (insomnia still reigns).