Firstly, I want to thank Phil Jackson for his recent post called “RIP Tribes? Phil has been a crusader in the Tribe Syndication Group called The Daily Crushers. This is basically a response to the post.

As I am witness to the power of tribes, and have been involved with some very loosely coupled tribes in the beginning where some of the methods and ways going about being a member involved trying to get others to do things the way they wanted them, or when you had a chance to dictate them, it was too much of a learning curve to get them to happen on a consistent basis.

I also have been involved with several other tribe organizations in may ways. What I have discovered is in the old saying that someone who does not have enough skin in the game isn’t someone could depend on. So what ended up happening was dumbed down version of going to others sites and clicking a button on someone’s blog post if you found the time. I learned later that that this may have given them some authority, but there are better ways that work 10 times better.

I’ve always been at odds with the term “Tribes” because it was taken from the book called “Tribes” and Seth Godins definition of a “Tribe” was always in context of leadership. The way it has been used is directly in opposition of that, as a commune. Tribes are people who follow. People will follow leaders. Leadership is something that is only earned by trust that is demonstrated by the way someone acts. It is not simply a title given to someone. That leader in order to be called a true leader must be doing things that promote and train others to be leaders as well. A true leader is not gauged by the title they hold or have been appointed but by the trust they have gained by lifting their followers. This is totally in contrast of the prevalent definition of a communal group that have a set of dictates to follow. Seth was trying to instill and train new leadership, not a new version of group followers. Seth was looking for people who wanted to learn “LEADERSHIP” and to train them. If we were to use the term “Tribe” the way it is being used for tribe syndication, its goal should be to figure out a way to dissolve as soon as possible. Each one of us should take the bull by the horns and LEAD and form a new “Tribe” group.

I think that Tribe 2.0 as Phil has said is the next evolution to do just that. It is recognizing the gap I talk about above. The term “tribe” should never remain a permanent thing or structure. As defined above it should evolve. But a mastermind group can be permanent. Seth Godin’s tribe definition is to teach and create new tribes, the things you can learn in a mastermind group.

I have created implementation models that can blow the doors off of the early implementations of Tribe syndication. I, like Phil, have realized that there is much more to “Tribes” than simply providing backlinks to your Tribe members. I have developed ways to automatically provide thousands of backlinks to your content. So now we step into “Tribe 2.0″. “Tribe 2.0” could be better known as a “Mastermind” group coined by Napoleon Hill.

So is Tribe 2.0 could be the original “Tribe” concept that Seth Godin wrote about in his book called “Tribes”? What a lot of people were led to believe is that a common shared goal could be a “Tribe” because it was based on a common belief. It was a communal goal that was to be practiced by all. We now know different.
The answer is YES!

The syndication group I spend my time with is more than just a group of syndicators. What I’m finding in the tribe I formally participate in is I am getting a chance to PRACTICE leadership. Hopefully they are learning it as well. I am getting a chance to educate, as I learn many things as I study their communication practices. I am learning information about many things. The great thing about it is that we are all at various levels of leadership and various levels of mastering online marketing, whether is be coaching, affiliation marketing, or daily practices that elevate our business and personal growth. The commodore and bonding we are experiencing, even though we may be at different levels, give everyone a chance to contribute to everyone else’s growth and I think eventually, much longer term relationships that can expand to joint venture partnerships in the future.

Our goal, I think is to be more in line with what Seth Godin proclaimed is to build tribes and teach them leadership, and kick them out of the nest. Once they are on their own, they will still have a bond. If leadership training is the goal, and leadership training does include learning and teaching technical skills, the psychology of sales and marketing, and personal development, then “Tribe 2.0” is something we should ingrain in our businesses. I welcome Tribe 2.0.

Join us at The Daily Crushers.