Is it time for a Web hosting tribe?

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to read more. And I’m off to a good start on that having just finished Seth Godin’s latest book, Tribes.

It’s a quick read, like most of Godin’s other books and there are numerous passages designed to motivate. He describes a tribe as any group of people, large or small who are connected to one another, a leader and an idea. So if we wanted to start a tribe, the shared interest is, of course, Web hosting. The leader part, well…we are open for offers. And we would need a method to communicate. A blog works. So basically the elements are covered, except for the leader part.

What makes a good leader?

I don't want to steal all of Seth's thunder by outlining the elements he dutifully outlines in the book, which is a good enough reason to buy it, but I'll share one with you: the ability to listen. Oddly enough he singles out former CEO of Rackspace, Graham Weston to illustrate this. Weston wanted to persuade his "skittish" staff to move to a new corporate headquarters in Houston and met with every employee and listened to each one's views and concerns. They moved successfully under his leadership.

Upon further reflection, I have that ability. I'm sure you have that skill as well. But the decision and commitment to lead takes a great deal of work. And to start off a New Year with the goal of improving leadership skills seems like a worthwhile endeavour, which is why I'll add it to my list of resolutions. It sure looks like starting with an inspirational read was a good move and who knows, a Web hosting tribe may well come to fruition as long as we don't ignore the opportunity. It's all about choice.