Dozens of volunteers (including me), worked together with Seth Godin to put together this ebook as a companion to his newest bestseller Tribes.
Yours to share or print or email, but please don't sell it or change it.
Not only is there a juicy insight on every page, but according to Seth he's comfortable
saying it's the best designed PDF he's ever seen, worth making into a
template for your next project.
Enjoy it.
Seth Godin presents the thinking behind his new book, Tribes, to an
invited audience in New York on 21st October 2008. This presentation
includes a Q&A session with the participants in Seth's invitation only online
community http://www.triiibes.com.
I’ve just finished reading a pre-release copy of Seth Godin’s new book, Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us. I think it may be the most important book I’ve read this decade.
In his usual, easy to read, conversational style, Seth provides a manifesto outlining a new type of heretical leadership. As I read through the book I found myself highlighting pretty much the whole thing…almost every page contained nuggets that I had to underline and flag.
Seth says about leadership, "We hesitate because it feels like something we need to be ordained to do." He then proceeds to deconstruct the traditional understanding of hierarchical leadership and paint an inspiring picture of what leadership is today.
Whether you are in business, ministry, politics, education or social work…you need to read this book. It comes out this Friday, my recommendation is pre-order a copy on Amazon today and read it this coming weekend.
I can’t wait to read it again, but I couldn’t help myself and I’ve given my early copy away already…but I’ve got 10 more on order from Amazon. If you’re a client of mine watch your mailbox…there’s a copy headed your way.
On September 25th, 1960 Richard Nixon was leading in the race for President. His opponent, John Kennedy was young and inexperienced and after several radio broadcast debates Nixon was the clear frontrunner.
On September 26th, 1960 everything changed. That night 70 million U.S. viewers tuned in to watch the first ever televised presidential debate. Even though nothing in the candidates message had changed, extensive polling of the television audience showed Kennedy to be the winner of the debate by a very large margin.
What was the difference? Kennedy embraced the new medium of the day, Nixon did not. Kennedy loved the camera, and the camera loved him. Nixon refused to wear make-up and the hot lights had him sweating before the debate even began. One observer noted, “There was no mistaking the distinction between the ease with which JFK related to the living rooms of America and the sense of desperateness that Nixon's intensity gave off.”
We‚Äôre seeing the same thing happen today. Barak Obama has embraced new media. He announced his VP choice to millions of Americans via text message before he told the traditional media and each and every one of them felt like they got something special, that they were an insider. Those folks can say they knew before CNN…you can bet he‚Äôs got their vote. He has more followers on Twitter than any other user (over 70,000). He takes his message directly to the nation, often completely bypassing the middle-man of traditional media. He‚Äôs even been reported to exchange personal emails and text messages. ‚ÄúHis people‚Äù feel more connected to him than any other candidate, ever.
Obama gets it. He understands that new media is a conversation, a tool used for two-way communication. He’s a guy we can relate to, that’s accessible and we’d feel comfortable having a cup of coffee with (this isn’t about my personal politics but my observations about who’s embracing new marketing effectively).
McCain on the other hand seems to miss it completely. His web site looks like something from a Mad Magazine spoof and he’s noticeably absent from most of the social networking sites. I have no idea what McCain is up to these days, but thanks to twitter I know which cities Obama has been visiting.
When it comes to election day the Obama campaign will have built an incredible “get out the vote” machine and I think it will win him the election. On that day, what would the McCain campaign give to have millions of people who had given their permission for him to drop them a personal note via text message reminding them that it was time to vote?
11/06/2008 – Update: Here's an interesting post election post – Obama vs. McCain Social Media Scorecard
New marketing is all about conversations…not the ‚Äúconversation‚Äù where you the marketer shout out your message to as many people as possible, but the conversation where your customers are talking to their contacts about your company.
The first conversation is the conversation that’s happening some place else.
Right now, if you have any market saturation at all, people are talking about your company. They may be saying good things…or bad. The question is do you know where the conversations are happening and, when appropriate, are you taking part in them?
The IT guy for a client of mine (a well known author) recently sent me a report showing all the references he’d been able to track that referenced my client over a two week period. This included twitters, blog posts and news reports. In 14 days there had been over 100 “conversations” that referenced my client or his work. Now, the question is what, if anything, should they be doing with that information.
My recommendation is whenever possible you should engage in the conversation. If someone writes a blog posts and mentions your product, why not leave them a comment, thanking them for the mention and give them a coupon for a discount on the their next order (or perhaps a free download). If someone is complaining about your company (check out the search results on twitter for AT&T), why not take the opportunity to pro-actively engage them and provide excellent customer service before they even ask (the whole world is watching). Rather than dealing with negative comments once someone gets frustrated enough to reach out to you, why not take part in the conversation where its already happening.
The second conversation is the conversation that probably isn’t happening yet, but should be. Its the conversation that you host.
Who better to connect your customers than you, their point of contact. If your customers naturally gather around your product in the real world why not help facilitate that happening in the virtual world? Threadless gets this…so does Amazon.
I make purchasing decisions every day and very seldom, if ever, are they influenced by traditional media. When I’m wondering if I should buy a book that’s been recommended to me, do I go to the New York Times book reviews? Nope, I’ve never read one. What I do is look on Amazon at the book reviews to see what their customers have to say.
You may be thinking, yeah, but Jon you‚Äôre on the bleeding edge of early adopters…true, but think about what influences your buying decisions. Chances are the number one thing is word of mouth. The same is true for your customers. Why not create a place for them to connect with each other and prospective customers? If you’re in the simple accounting software business, why not create the online destination for people to gather and ask each other their accounting questions? Don’t try to control the conversation but do take part in it. What you’ll earn is permission to talk to them about what you have to offer.
Are you taking part in the two conversations?
At the recommendation of Tony (CEO of Zappos) I just went through this slide show by Tara Hunt. Its phenomenal. Take ten minutes to go through it…then take your team through it…be sure to take the time to do the exercises…it’ll change you and your business.
How you say it is just as important as what you say.
I just finished an interesting exchange with a political activist who spammed me after finding my email address on an association website.
Hello my name is XXXXX. I am involved with the XXXXX in XXXXX and am
looking for information from like minded people about Congressman Ron
Paul. Can you help? all I have seen on him for the most part is this
interview (link to 60 minute Ron Paul promo video) please help with what ever information that you can.
Since I don’t know the guy but he claimed to be associated with some friends of mine I wrote back to him and suggested that he try a more honest approach. The individual told me he had tried being very upfront and that didn’t work so it was worth being a little misleading in order to get people to watch the video. He told me that so far he’d emailed over 800 people and he received responses only when he was indirect in his approach. When I suggested that he may not be accounting for the hundreds of people he was irritating and turning off when he tried to mislead them unfortunately the conversation went downhill.
Here’s the problem for Ron Paul right now…I believe many of his supporters are hurting him more than they’re helping him. His followers would do well to read and really understand this post on spam. Just google "Ron Paul" and "Spam" and you’ll see from all the complaints that he has an image problem. I have no idea if the "troops" are being told to spam or if they’re just being overzealous…but those supporters should consider the consequences of articles like this on the widely read Wired blog accusing them of criminal activity. If they believe as this guy told me that "all press is good press" they should remember what happened to another Presidential hopeful named George Allen.
Either you respect people or you don’t and spam is disrespectful. I’m sure that much of what Ron Paul is saying needs to be heard…but you can’t avoid it…whether you’re selling a politician or product…your method is the message.
I helped one of my clients, Ransomed Heart Ministries (home of Wild at Heart Author John Eldredge) launch their new podcast today. The first episode features the first session from The Sacred Romance Audio CD’s.
The easiest way to subscribe to a podcast is using ITunes. This is a free download from Apple and will allow you to automatically download both Audio and Video Podcasts.
Visit www.ransomedheart.com/podcast for instructions on how to subscribe.
I was born in London, England, in 1977. I moved with my family to Texas at the age of 10. I started my first business at age 15 and have been a serial entrepreneur ever since.
I married Amy in 1996, and we live in the mountains of Colorado with our four incredible children. I’m an avid outdoorsman. In the winter, you’ll find me snowboarding with my kids. When spring comes and the snow starts melting, you’ll find me whitewater kayaking on rivers throughout Colorado.
In 1996, I started my first marketing firm. For the last decade, I have worked with medium and large-sized companies helping them develop and implement innovative marketing strategies.I specialize in helping organizations develop effective strategies using social media.
In 2009, I participated in the most selective and unique MBA program in the country, a six month journey working directly with Seth Godin and eight other amazing people in New York City.
In September, 2010 I co-founded Moolala.com with a phenomenal team who have had several successful start-ups, their last company was recognized as one the 25 fastest growing companies in the United States.
“In the last 6 months I have engaged Jon to completely direct and build our new ‘idea network,’ www.48Days.net. Its clear that Jon is a voracious student of the concept and has established himself as a leader in this emerging field. With a thorough grasp of front-line technology, he has adeptly handled every issue and challenge as they are presented.”
– Dan Miller, Author 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Mondays
“Jon Dale has an innate passion, gift and vision for the power and productivity of strategic marketing. His integrity and commitment set him apart from the pack.”
– Morgan Snyder, Director, Strategic Development, John Eldredge and Ransomed Heart Ministries
‚ÄúI continually return to Jon for cutting edge advice and counsel regarding anything in the digital marketing world. His advice and recommendations actually make it into implementation!……AND produce results! I highly recommend Jon’s coaching and work to anyone wanting to stay on top of this quickly changing segment of marketing.‚Äù
– Mark Weaver, Owner, Ascent Commercial Group, LLC
“As a marketer Jon brings out-of-the-box vision and conviction. As a businessman Jon brings trust, faith and hard work. As a father Jon brings compassion, love and understanding. As a friend Jon brings unbiased, non judgmental friendship. I’ve known Jon since 1994 and count him as a trusted business confidant and personal friend.”
– Stephen Warren, Founder, President & Director of Sales & Marketing, Warren Solutions
“Jon Dale has a life that explains his unique creative abilities. His background, his experiences, and awareness of the world around him, and its motivations, make him an asset for someone needing new marketing eyes for their business.”
– Xan Hood, Author Untamed: Becoming the Man You Want to Be and Founder, The Training Ground
The very best way to keep up with Jon Dale and his writing and possible seminars is to visit his blog.
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Jon Dale 