Seth Godin has his own action figure. Why? It may be because he is a superhero. Named the Marketing Guru, Godin has made a career in writing books focused on marketing techniques. However, it is quickly becoming apparent that these techniques are not only applicable to business models. Every day he has at least one blog post that is overtly business and covertly life altering. His ideas change perspectives (I'm really not exaggerating).
Godin recently posted an interview with Wired.com on his blog discussing his most recent book, "Tribes".
Although "Tribes" is targeted at business, it epitomizes the mission of HeadCount and our role in fostering political activism. The book suggests that the most "available" method of great change "is this idea of finding and connecting like-minded people and leading them to a place they want to go." Godin believes that these like-minded people need a leader and some direction. He mentions in the article that, "...if you can find the 1,000 or 5,000 or 50,000 people out there who want to make a certain kind of change and can connect them and show them a path, they want to follow you. And you can use that tribe, that group of people, to make change that matters."
The live music community is swarming with fans with strong convictions and something to say. Maybe your favorite band is displeased with the national dependence on oil and you agree. The person next to you at the show, that girl who is dancing and singing along, agrees too. Will you talk about it?
"The need is always there-- the need to connect, to matter... And what leaders do... is they find a particular subset of people who also share a goal... and bring in the right people to support it..."
As expected, Godin has the right idea and HeadCount is running with it. There are leaders at every level in our community, from musicians right down to our volunteers. The tribe is alive and growing, and we're really excited about it.