When the Tribe Has Spoken

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On August 11, 2009, in Leadership, by Brett Duncan

It’s apparent: modern society is more tribal than we probably like to give it credit for. The beauty of a tribe is in its shared interests, its selective inclusion and its easy accessibility among its members. Every tribe has its own rules. Its own secret handshake, if you will. Its own belief system.

A fundamental truth of any tribe, though, is that it must reject more than it accepts. If it doesn’t, it’s not a tribe. It’s just a group, or crowd. Crowds don’t have belief systems. Or secret handshakes. They’re just crowds.

The Tribe Has Spoken

Tribes create their own criteria for acceptance. That’s their right. It doesn’t have to make any sense to anyone but the tribe. This becomes apparent in watching just a couple episodes of Survivor. The show is built on the suspense and strategy surrounding the decision of the tribe. And when the tribe speaks, there is no opportunity to dispute.

Rejected by the Tribe

If you’re rejected by a tribe, regardless of the reason, that’s it. The tribe has spoken. That’s their privilege and their right. And it’s the beauty of the whole system. Otherwise, the tribe would mean nothing, and acceptance would be meaningless.

The bad news is there are so many tribes that the chances of getting rejected are pretty high. The good news is there are so many tribes.

p.s. I’ve only read about 20 pages of Seth Godin’s latest book Tribes. I’m sure much of what I’ve said below is something he’s already explained in a much better way. But I promise I didn’t intentionally rip it off.