Leading by Example

My place of employment has one of the most unique, dynamic, and successful company/work cultures of anywhere on earth. We have been fortunate enough to remain successful in a dismal economy, grow and maintain market share over our (lower priced) competitors, and are trending towards sustained profitability very soon. We sell a product that did not exist 5 years ago, to a market that did not exist 15 years ago, where almost every ounce of market demand for our products is self created. The company treats employees to unlimited vacation time, yearly lake parties, frequent catered lunches (more on this later), quarterly companywide meetings held at Alamo Drafthouse, two always stocked (and free) breakrooms/kitchens, and a monstrously sized game room with everything from a pingpong table to an Xbox 360 with the full Rock Band set up. Ask our CEO what the most remarkable thing about our company is, and without blinking an eye, Brett will tell you it’s the people. Beyond building an amazing product and impeccable business model, he has grown and hand selected a team of highly motivated, highly intelligent “Rock Stars” (as the company calls them) to run all the pieces. Without hiring only the best, and only those who you want to grab a beer after work with, all of these company perks would go to waste. Privileges could be abused, productivity would suffer, and the business would languish.

Yet he had a vision, an idea for how things should be done, and how people should be treated. Brett felt firmly that if employees were treated exactly how he wished to be treated, they would be more productive, more enthusiastic, and more dedicated to the company than any place that did not. So rather than waiting on others, he created the company and the culture, and just as importantly, surrounded himself with others who acted similarly, and shared the same values.

In essence, this is exactly what Seth Godin’s recent book Tribes details and explains in so many words and ways: people crave leaders, and the world rewards those who have a vision, act upon it, and incorporate others. Although the book is incredibly short (I finished it before the wheels touched the ground on a flight from Austin to Minneapolis), and meanders into Thomas Freidmanesque territory in execution (useless, ill contrived metaphors and repetition plague both authors writing style, such as the notoriously awful idea of “a unicorn in a balloon factory” that Godin is so fond of in Tribes), it demonstrates the main thesis with a number of examples, in and out of the business realm.

The beauty of this idea is not simply what has been preached forever (if you want something done right, do it yourself), but rather incorporating others to help amplify your idea, and the ease (thanks to the internet and telecom) you can reach others today. Power in numbers. Take initiative. Others will respect a genuine idea. All simple ideas, but much like a premise of the book, the ideas grouped together can create fantastic results.

So as a call to action, Brett purchased a copy of Tribes for anyone who wished to read it. He called together a few lunch meetings (with the catered food mentioned before), and had a roundtable discussion of the book and its implications. Any time that someone has taken the initiative to lead a group, or an idea, and execute on it while incorporating others, we call it “tribesing it”. This has led to a number of informational sessions, with a moniker of “community college” where specialists in any field will share their knowledge with anyone willing to listen, ranging from web analytics and search engine optimization, to the basics of professional photography and travels to Southeast Asia.

Furthermore, it has sparked a bit of initiative for individuals to step outside of their normal roles, and “self manage” so to speak. If something needs to be done, organizational structure be damned, someone should step up to the plate and head the effort. We work in a truly unique culture where this sort of thing is not only accepted, but promoted, so I can see a certain assumption of risk in less progressive organizations in doing this. Tribes slightly addresses this, but the “just do it” answer seems too simple for the complexity a highly political situation can bring.

The extended title, “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us” basically says it all. Develop an idea, lead by example, and others will follow. Very “Field of Dreams” of you, Seth.