“Tribal Leadership”
David Logan
How
02/03/2008 – Superbowl. Across US, tribal councils had convened. Which team they will support.
Funnel effect. Tribe is 20-50/100 people. Not all tribes are the same. What makes the difference is the
culture.
Stage 1 – “life sucks” 2%
people systematically sever relationships from normal tribes and form relationships with other people
like them. Gangs, school shootings.
Stage 2 – “my life sucks” 25%
DL says culture makes them dumb. My life sucks. What kind of work/innovation would get done if that
was pervasive? Not much
Stage 3 – “I’m great” 48%
DL “and you’re not.” Smart and successful people compare their progress and successes.
Stage 4 – “We’re great” 22%
From Zappos. Employees volunteer time in advice booth. Value fun and creativity. Be a bit weird.
When individuals come together and find something that unites them that is greater than their
individual competence, changes into tribe that is aware of its own existence.
Stage 5 – “Life is Great” 2%
Scene from truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. Desmund Tutu. Stage 5 process to bring
every tribe together.
3 counterintuitive findings
1. Leaders are Fluent in all five tribal states
a. Constitution – inalienable rights. Most of it is written in stage 2.
b. MLK – I have a Dream is stage 3.
c. Tribes can only hear one level above/below where they are
d. TED is moving from stage 3 to stage 4. Extending the reach of tribes.
e. Stage 45
i. Gallup Poll. They were bored and wanted to change the world. What does the
entire world think? First world poll.
“Everyday Leadership”
Drew Dudley
“How many of you are completely comfortable calling yourselves a leader?” We spend too much time
celebrating amazing things that hardly anybody to do, that we’ve convinced ourselves those are the only
things worth celebrating.” We don’t let ourselves feel good about leadership that happens every day.
Personal story – lollipops. Changed a girl’s life and doesn’t remember it.
People make our lives better…how often do we tell them?
2. “How to educate leaders? Liberal Arts”
3. Patrick Awuah
Renaissance Africa. Transformation in Africa is about leadership. Hospital energy goes out. No
flashlights, but had the money. Leadership (not just political) – talking about the elite; those who have
been trained and are the guardians of their society. Ghana when PA was 16. Soldiers were everywhere.
PA leaves Ghana to get an education – wanted to be critical. The leaders of Ghana’s economy were
making bad decisions. The ability to confront complex problems and to design solutions (create). PA
became a parent – Africa would matter to his children. Africa was a mess…PA knew he needed to help,
return to Ghana. Every problem 3 things: corruption, weak institutions, and the people who run
(leaders). PA asked where the leaders were coming from (unethical and not able to solve problems).
Typical graduate from University of Ghana has more of sense of entitlement than sense of responsibility.
“Every society must be intentional about educating its leaders.” Liberal Arts college. “I am thinking
now.” Honor Code  can we create a perfect society? A student crafted honor code is reaching
towards perfection. If that is the case, then we won’t achieve perfection, but we will achieve excellence.
Privilege of Leadership is to serve humanity. Ability to deal with ambiguity, tackle problems they
haven’t seen before… Manner in which we train our leaders will make all the difference.
“Lead like the great conductors”
Itay Talgam
Who would we thank for the success of the music? Clapping audience. Senior management gets
annoyed. Happiness – doesn’t come from his story and joy from music. Joy is about enabling other
peoples stories to be heard at the same time. Story of the orchestra as a professional body. Story of the
audience. Story of individuals in the orchestra. Story of individuals who built the concert hall. That’s
the true experience of a live concert. Mouti – had singular vision and singular story to tell. Many
people signed a document asking him to resign. Interpretation is the real story of the performer
(Strauss). Worst damage I could do to my orchestra is give a clear instruction (downbeat) because that
would prevent the ensemble, the listening to each other that is need to fill an orchestra. Providing
gestures for the music. Demonstrate/show the music (like a rollercoaster). Authority is there, can
enforce when needed. About being in control in a special way. Kleiber. Creates the process as well as
the conditions in the world in which the process takes place. Oboe player is completely autonomous.
The level at which Kleiber is in control is different. Then control ceases to be a zero-sum game. Need
process and content for meaning. If you love something give it away.
“The Power of Introverts”
Susan Cain
SC 9 years old, packed full of books. Counselor taught a cheer – ROWDIE. She put the books under the
bed and left them the whole summer. Message that SC was supposed to not be introverted. Made
many choices reflexively. It’s the world’s loss. When it comes to creativity and leadership, we need
introverts to do what they do best. Introversion is different than being shy. About response to social
stimulation. Maximizing talents is about putting individuals in environments with most stimulation.
Schools are designed for extroverts. Now desks are set in pods…kids that like to work alone are seen as
problem cases. Mandela and Gandhi – leaders that needed to be there even though they didn’t want to
be those leaders…they were introverts. Solitude is a crucial component to creativity. Biblical and
religious examples. Western society values man of action more than the man of contemplation.
Grandfather was a Rabbi – brought some books by his favorite authors. Also led a congregation.
Underneath ceremonial role, he was very introverted. When it comes to attitudes, we are poised to
change. 3 Calls to action:
1. Stop the madness for constant group work
a. More freedom, privacy, autonomy
2. Go to the wilderness – be like Buddha, have your own revelations
3. Take a good look at what’s inside your own suitcase and why you put it there
4. “The power of vulnerability”
5. Brene Brown
Researcher storyteller. Ask about love, tell about heartbreak. Ask about connection the stories are
about disconnection. SHAME AND FEAR. Shame is a fear disconnection. It is underpinned by
excruciating vulnerability. People that have strong sense of love and belonging believe they deserve
love and belonging. Courage to be imperfect. Compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to
others. Connection – as a result of authenticity. Vulnerability – fully embraced. Believe that what
makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful. It’s necessary – willingness to say I love you first, to do
things without guarantees – to invest in a relationship that may not work out.
We try to numb vulnerability. You can’t selectively numb emotion, so when we attempt to numb
vulnerability we inevitably numb joy and happiness in addition. Problem: we make the uncertain
certain; we perfect/pretend. Solution: let ourselves be seen (vulnerably), love with whole hearts,
practice gratitude and joy, I am enough.
“Listening to shame”
Brene Brown
Vulnerability is not weakness. Seeing vulnerability is perceived as courage  perhaps a measurement
of courage. Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change. Shame. Can’t have
conversation about race without shame. TED is the failure conference. Very few people are afraid to
fail. Ted Roosevelt: man in arena daring greatly. We are our own worst critics. Shame isn’t guilt.
Shame is I am bad. Guilt is I did something bad. For example: How many people willing to say I made a
mistake? How many people willing to say I am a mistake? Shame organized by gender. Women – do it
all, do it perfectly, and never let them see you sweat. Men – do not perceived as weak. Men’s
perception: my family would rather see me die on top of my horse than fall down. Shame needs
secrecy, silence, and judgment.
“The surprising workforce crisis of 2030 – and how to start solving it now”
Rainer Strack
Germany. In 2030 have 20% gap of 8M. Increase migration, more women in workforce, increase
retirement age. If not, companies will look other places. By 2030, we will have labor shortage in most
countries. There will be a skill mismatch. Also cultural challenge. Will technology change the picture?
Yes  when, how fast, and to what extent? Will this help us solve the crisis? Yes and no. Auto industry
– cost of electronic parts has been rising. Upcoming job pool open to working abroad. Most important
job preferences are 4) good relationships with superior 3) good work-life balance 2) good relationship
with colleagues 1) appreciation for your work. People are looking for recognition.
Strategy: 1) how to forecast supply and demand 2) how to attract great people 3) how to educate and
upskill people 4) how to retain great people. Crucial underlying factor is to change attitudes.
“The puzzle of motivation”
Dan Pink
The candle problem and power of incentives. Human Resources.
Federal Reserves. LSE “financial incentives can have a negative impact on overall performance.”
Autonomy – the urge to direct our own lives. Mastery – the desire to get better and better at something
that matters. Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in service of something larger than ourselves.
Fedex Days. 20% time (Google). ROWE. Microsoft Encarta vs. Wikipedia.
1) Motivators from 20th century management do work, but only in narrow band of circumstance
2) If then rewards destroy creativity
3) secret to high performance is intrinsic drive – to do things because they matter
“The currency of the new economy is trust”
Rachel Botsman
Our age, reputation will be our most valuable asset. Sebastian Sandys – life changed by marketplace
fueled by reputation. Airbnb – marketplace. Technology market. Collaborative Consumption  micropreneurs: empowering people to make and save money from their assets. Using the power of
technology to build TRUST. Built on personal relationships. Collaborative behaviors that have been
hardwired. All of the things that we are sharing…welcome to the wonderful world of collaborative
consumption. Instead of consuming to keep up with the Jones’s, people are consuming to get to know
the Jones’s. Task Rabbit. Social Networking  Service Networking. Using online networks to get things
done in the real world. Task Rabbit – targets unemployed population. People-powered marketplaces.
Virtual trust will transform the way we trust face to face. Reputation is the measurement of how much
a community trusts you. Reputation has a real world value. Should he own that reputation data? i.e.
moving from Task Rabbit to Amazon. Reputation is largely contextual. What data makes sense to poll –
future will have aggregates of data. REPUTATION CAPITAL – the worth of your reputation – intentions,
capabilities and values – across communities and marketplaces. Transparency and privacy issues are a
thing. How do we empower digital ghosts? Reputation capital can create a massive positive disruption
in who has power, trust, and influence. Reputation can become more powerful than credit history in
the 21st century. Reputation generated in one place has value beyond the environments from which it
was built.
Dan: butterfly effect.
“What makes us feel good about our work?”
Dan Ariely
Why do people work? Mountaineering/mountain climbing – suggests we care about fights, challenges,
etc. “fruits of our labor.” Lego – bionicle. Sisyphus – cyclic version. Breaking things in front of peoples
eyes reduces the joy someone can get from an activity. Importance of meaning. Ignoring the efforts of
people is almost like shredding their work. IKEA model – positive experience…need effort involved.
Making cake is the “IKEA effect” – by getting people to work harder, you get them to love what they are
doing more. Adam Smith vs. Karl Marx. Smith – mass production; industrial revolution. Marx –
alienation of labor is incredibly important. Now we are in knowledge economy…meaning becomes
more important.