Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Part 3 covers sections: “Fear of Failure is Overrated,” “The Cult of the Heretic,” “Should They Build a Statue of You?,” “The World’s Best Coach,” “Tighter,” “Tactics and Tools for Tightness,” “Discomfort,” “Followers,” “Leaning In, Backing Off, Doing Nothing,” “Participating Isn’t Leading,” “Case Studies: CrossFit.com and Patientslikeme.com,” “Three Hungry Men and a Tribe,” “Curiosity,” “The Plurality Myth,” “The Schoolteacher Experiment,” “The Virtuous Cycle Versus the Exclusive Tribe,” “Most People Don’t Matter So Much,” “Does the Status Quo Ruin Your Day (Every Day)?,” “They Burn Heretics at the Stake,” “The Wrong Question,” and “All You Need to Know Is Two Things.”

Failure is built into business models. If an individual’s idea does not take off, then the company usually absorbs the consequences. Godin believes fear of criticism is the most likely culprit for why people avoid risks. Criticism, without constructive feedback, is a potent dream-killer because it only shuts someone down and does not give them encouragement or a way forward. Nevertheless, even negative feedback can give some advantage, since “[t]he products and services that get talked about are the ones that are worth talking about” (27). Godin therefore exhorts readers to generate products worthy of criticism, and as an example, he praises heretics, who challenge the status quo.