Seth Godin’s newest book, Tribes, focuses on the topics of leadership, purpose and the formation of connected groups ("tribes"), topics to which I have paid great attention over the past few weeks in relation to IBNMA.

Leadership

One thing I learned from reading the book was that there is a great deal of difference between leading an organization and managing it. For example:

• Leaders inspire while managers control
• Leaders break the rules by which managers play
• Leaders are what Seth calls "heretics" – mangers merely tout company policy
• Leaders ask forgiveness while managers ask permission

I came to realize I was attempting to "manage" IBNMA, when what the organization needs is leadership. In other words, I need to become a heretic.

Purpose: That "One Thing"

Recently, a cherished friend shared some advice regarding IBNMA. "Paul, you’re trying to do too many things," he said, "when what you need to do is focus on one thing around which the organization can take ownership." Because I have such deep, abiding respect for him I took his advice to heart and began to try and distill what that "one thing" was.

Upon further reflection, I reached the conclusion that, because our membership is so broad, disparate and expansive, no single issue is going to catalyze the entire organization or capture everyone’s attention sufficiently enough to drive it forward.

What, then, is our purpose? What is the glue that binds our membership together? That, I believe, is a single issue and it is this: No matter which area of the blog or social mediasphere a particular member or group inhabits, or what goals they hope to achieve, whether monetary or otherwise, we are all driven by a desire to see the tools of social media used to achieve them.

That holds true whether one is a business or political blogger, a social media strategist, professional podcaster, or small business owner and on and on. Every one of us believes in the power of social media to effect positive change. That is where IBNMA can serve a vital role.

Indeed, IBNMA very much mirrors the make up of BlogWorld and New Media Expo. Every area of the blog and social mediasphere was represented at that event and the conversations that took place, both within given spheres and across them, were meaningful and valuable. IBNMA can serve as a place where that conversation can continue on an ongoing basis irrespective of location.


Tribes

I mentioned at the outset that Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, referred to leaders as heretics who connect similarly minded individuals around a given idea or philosophy. In other words, heretics help create tribes.

I want to be such a heretic and my desire is to see IBNMA become a tribe. In fact, my hope is that the organization will become an inner-connected maze of many tribes led by members who rise through the ranks to take leadership roles themselves.

In other words, we are looking for heretics – people who believe so passionately about an idea they are willing step up, focus the attention of others and gather their own "tribe" around it.

One such "heretic" is Michael Harper, CEO of Podcast Tuneup, a professional podcaster with a passion to bring device manufacturers, software providers, and new media content creators together to formulate standards to improve consistency in the podcast experience.

(Read his posts on the subject: Podcast Standards Part 1 & Part 2)

Is his an idea that will catch the attention of every member? Possibly not, but it will excite a certain segment of our members who will join Michael in his quest.

He (or you for that matter) could create a tribe separate and apart from IBNMA. But, I ask why, when there much greater potential for the message to spread to a sizeably larger group and even permeate a number of other tribes. I, for one, am glad that Michael has decided to start his tribe inside IBNMA.

Conclusion

Are you a heretic? Do you believe in the power of social media to be a force for change? Are you passionate enough about an issue to become heretical (i.e. a leader)? If so, then I invite you to start a tribe and do so with us.

In hindsight, my friend was right. There is a "one thing" that the IBNMA can do and that’s become a spawning ground for tribes where we provide information, advocacy, education, research and support. I invite you to become a member of our tribe.