This week, Seth Godin kicked off his Tribes book tour. In addition to giving away a free audiobook version of Tribes earlier this week, Seth is doing a series of live talks with today’s leading business minds.  Today was the first event in the online tour. If you missed it, here’s a direct link to download the MP3 version of the talk. In this talk, you’ll get to hear a powerful call with Seth and these two inspiring business leaders:  Read the rest of this post

• John Jantsch, bestselling author of Duct Tape Marketing
• Dave Lakhani, bestselling author of Persuasion and Subliminal Persuasion

Yesterday, I mentioned that I spent a week with my in-laws in Wisconsin. They live in a small town called Kiel. It’s truly a small midwest-American town in every sense. It’s the kind of town with a water tower with the word KIEL painted in large white letters across it. The volunteer fire station blows a whistle every day at noon. Friday night high school football is a big event. The town’s three biggest employers are quite literally two small cheese-processing plants and a machinery supplier for those plants. One morning while I was out running, I could have sworn I passed the same old guy in a Green Bay Packers jacket 5 or 6 times, but I couldn’t be sure. That same morning, I passed an auction at the local ammo and archery shop where at least 150 camouflaged people were anxiously bidding on pieces of hunting art. On a walk down the half-mile stretch of Fremont Street, the main street in town, I counted 9 bars and 4 churches. Kiel is a pretty little town though. A beautiful little park sits alongside the Sheboygan River as it slowly ambles it way through the town center. Kids play on tire swings hanging from tall shady maple trees. Norman Rockwell would have loved Kiel.  Read the rest of this post

Seth Godin‘s new book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us has just been released as a free audio download at audible.com. I took a listen today and the book is great (in fact, Seth actually reads the book). As most of you already know, I’m part of the Seth Godin Tribe. For those of you who don’t know who Seth is truly a marketing thought leader. His views on customer evangelism, edgecraft, branding, and marketing in general are unparalleled in my opinion. His down to earth, customer focused way of seeing the business world is awesome. One of his main points of marketing to the masses is the idea of creating tribes and tribe management. Tribes are the true fans who have a sense of depth of commitment.  Earlier today I wrote about the Schaar Tribe in New Holstein, WI.  So what are tribes and what is tribe management.  In his own words:  Read the rest of this post

Last week I spent some time at my in-law’s place in Wisconsin. While we were visiting around the cow-dotted countryside, we came to a small town called Hilbert where we had a great dinner at an off-the-beaten track restaurant called the Village Hearthstone (I highly recommend it if you find yourself in Middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin). On the way out of Hilbert, we passed through New Holstein. My in-laws pointed out Schaar’s Union Oil Service Station. It didn’t look like anything special, just a nice looking family run service station. But they told me it was the last of a dying breed: The Full Service Gas Station. Yes, I know, Oregon and New Jersey are full of them, but it’s because by law they have to provide full service. In Wisconsin, as in most other places, self-service is the norm. But Schaar’s is different. I’m talking real old-fashioned full service. The “Check your tires ma’am?” kind of full service. They’ll actually open your hood and check your oil and wiper fluid…and top it off if you need. They clean your windows, your wiper blades, and your headlights. And of course, they pump your gas.  Read the rest of this post