Reading both Tribes by Seth Godin and Good to Great by Jim Collins has given me a much more positive outlook on my future. Both books were very powerful and really spoke to me in an influential way.
Godin teaches how to become a leader, and to not be afraid of leading. Collins teaches how to use that leadership in your career and how to not only be good, but also be great. I have been able to relate both of these books to my internship and I find myself referencing the books often. Throughout this paper I will discuss some of my favorite parts of each book and mention ways that I have related the books to my life.
Tribes by Seth Godin is a book about leadership. Godin defines a tribe as a group of people who are connected to one another, a leader and an idea.
Throughout the book Godin encourages readers to find their Tribe, step up, and lead. I found this to be helpful because a lot of people our age struggle with finding that confidence to actually step up and lead. Seth Godin gives examples and encouragement to his readers by explaining how anyone can step up and lead, and ever since reading this book I feel that I have had a little extra confidence and motivation to be a leader.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the section titled “The F Word.” This section reveals the real issue in turning one’s ideas into reality, fear. Many people have good ideas, even great ideas, but may not have the will or confidence to take their idea to the next level.
Godin states, “In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”
This quote spoke to me deeply because one of my biggest problems is taking action. I have always let the fear of failure take over my will to lead but ever since reading Tribes, I have a different outlook on leading. Everyone fails, everyone hits speed bumps and everyone needs to learn from their mistakes. If you let fear get in the way of this process, it will be very difficult to lead and become successful. After reading Tribes, I wake up a little more confident, and a little more fearless in leading.
Good to Great by Jim Collins is a great book that gives extensive research about a small fraction of companies that transition from a good company to a truly great company.
As Collins states, it is so difficult to transition from good to great. But with the right operational practices and behaviors, it is possible to become a great company. Collins, like Godin, proves that anyone can become successful and lead. Everyone comes from a different place and background, but we can all find the answers inside and become a truly great leader.
My favorite part of Good to Great is Level 5 Leadership. Collins reveals interviews with some of the “good” and “great” companies that determine the differences between the leaders. He finds that the executives that show Level 5 Leadership display “an unusual mix of intense determination and profound humility.”
These leaders invested a larger portion of their life to their company, worrying about the gain of the company, rather than the personal gain of the individual. These leaders often gave the credit to their teammates, rather than themselves and rarely spoke about themselves. According to Collins, this is what it takes to be a Level 5 Leader, and I couldn’t agree with him more.
In my opinion, it shows a serious amount of strength to become a truly humble person. If one is able to remain humble, while also putting forth an extreme amount of hard work and motivation, you have learned how to become a great leader. These attributes of being a leader apply very well to someone who is leading a company. For me, I can only do so much leading. When it comes to my internship, I try to lead as much as possible.
But I don’t only try to lead, I always refer to Jim Collins level 5 leadership attributes and try to emulate that as best as I can.
As I stated earlier, both Seth Godin’s Tribes and Jim Collins Good to Great spoke to me deeply and I am glad I had the opportunity to read them. I try to take their advice, be less scared, take risks, and remain humble as best I can. There are many lessons to learn as one is growing as a professional and Godin and Collins both tackle many of these lessons. I believe that reading these books has given me a more positive outlook on my life and future and I will continue to reference these books as I grow as a professional.
