I just finished Seth Godin's latest, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us and it's a gem. If you're unfamiliar with Godin's books or writing style, you'll find Tribes to be a pretty good example of what he does: zero in on one key concept and hammer it home. Tribes is simple, to the point and repetitive. There are no chapters. No photos. No complex points. Why does the author frame his points this way?

Godin just gets it.

He knows that book readers have the equivelant to ADD so he makes things short and sweet. He knows that social networking is more than about connecting with others. He knows that marketing is about more than just making money. It's about tribes.

A tribe is a group of folks with a similar interest and way of communicating with one another. These might be conspiracy theorists or pastry chefs. They may be religious or agnostic. They may be Southerners or part of Red Sox Nation (come on, who isn't?!).

I found Tribes to be an affirmation of what we're trying to do at work and what The Daily Saint is all about- expanding the spirituality of work movement. I also found Godin's latest to be somewhat irreverent at times. He's all about faith and not about religion. He has probably not experienced a healthy brand of organized religion and rests solely on a stuffy, changeless style that left a bad taste in his mouth. Too bad. My religious tradition is full of life and integrates the best of a two thousand year old tradition with all that is relevant in today's society. What's stuffy about that?

I think that you'll enjoy Tribes. Available through Amazon and any number of other venues, you'll take away all of Godin's genius perspective on marketing and will feel emboldened as a leader. One more thing- your tribe will thank you for it.

SOME MEMORABLE QUOTES

"It turns out that the people who like their jobs are also the ones who are doing the best work, making the greatest impact, and changing the most."

"The organizations of the future are filled with smart, fast, flexible poeple on a mission. The thing is, that requires leadership."

"If you're not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it's almost certain you're not reaching your potential as a leader."

"So great leaders don't try to please everyone. Great leaders don't water down their message in order to make a tribe a bit bigger."

"Leadership is a choice. It's the choice to not do nothing."