Tribes

Surf company

Last week, I wrote an email to a friend who is visiting Costa Rica and is going to try surfing. As I crafted the email, I thought of three key similarities between surfing and starting a new business.

Conditions are critical
SURFING:
Even excellent surfers can’t surf when the water is flat. On a day with perfect waves, even amateur surfers catch a few good rides. (On rough days, you can spend 80% of your effort just paddling to get into position.)

BUSINESS:
When market conditions are perfect, even average businesses can succeed. When conditions get worse, only the very best can thrive.

Experience trumps tools
SURFING:
Experienced surfers can make do with average equipment, whereas rookies aren’t helped by a brand new surfboard.

BUSINESS:
A spreadsheet does not make someone a financial analyst. Keynote does not make someone a good speaker. A twitter account does not make someone a social media expert. Good tools reward experience.

Timing is everything
SURFING:
Paddle too early and you’ll burn out when the wave comes. Paddle too late and the wave will pass you by.

BUSINESS:
Burn through your cash too early and you won’t be around to sustain the tough periods. Wait to long to change your business due to an industry paradigm shift (like the end of traditional publishing) and you’ll be left underwater.

Tony Horton and P90X

It's 2am and you're flipping the channels between two infomercials.  One promises magic weight loss through an expensive, non-prescription pill.  The other offers a set of exercise DVDs and promises not just weight loss, but to help you completely transform your body.

The first one is snake oil, sold by scam artists and fake doctors. 

The second one works, in large part because it is a Tribe.

There is no magic pill that in any way helps you lose weight.  If such a pill existed, everyone would be slim, obesity would be a footnote in history books and the inventors would lend money to Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.  I still can't believe people fall for such obvious scams but they clearly do.  The infomercials keep running.

The other option I'm referring to is a detailed and prescriptive exercise program called P90X.  The program consists of 13 DVDs, an exercise guide and a nutrition guide.  Each DVD is led by an inspirational, extremely fit 50 year old named Tony Horton. 

The program works because it contains the three critical elements of any successful fitness program:

1. Strength training
2. Cardio and
3. Nutrition

P90X isn't easy and never claims to be.  Each workout is about an hour and you can expect to be sweating profusely during each one (even on yoga day).

But many similar fitness programs contain those three elements.  So why is P90X so successful?  Because people stick with the program long enough to realize their transformation.

Why do people stick with the program?  Because it is a Tribe.  It has an inspirational leader in Tony Horton.  Members use the P90X terminology.  Members connect and support each other, posting their before and after pictures on P90X message boards.  People who finish the program can't wait to tell others about it and recruit.  Many first-timers then become 'coaches' for new members.  Many people post their transformational stories on YouTube.

You can't lose weight by taking a magic pill.

You won't get six-pack abs by buying a blue chair contraption and doing a thousand situps.

You can transform your body by joining a Tribe and sticking out a tough 90 day program called P90X. 

Welcome to Tribes (thanks, Seth)

This is a new blog dedicated to Tribes, the term coined by marketing guru and agent of change, Seth Godin.

My goal is to identify, review and analyze Tribes that I come across and why they are (or are not) successful.

When applicable, I will also compare the Tribe to another real life "non-Tribe". 

Welcome, and enjoy.