Summary Of Sheepwalking

The entire book consists of Godin introducing important elements of leaders and expanding on each one of these elements. The first of these elements is that the leader must challenge the status quo and be willing to step up to authority if needed. Second, a strong leader sets a goal and then creates a culture around that set goal by allowing his or her employees get involved. Strong leaders are also extremely curious about the world and they are never satisfied with society. The fourth element is that charisma must be gained in order to use that charisma to attract followers and motivate those followers to continue with the movement. Leaders must communicate their vision of the future and allow this vision to be well heard. They must also commit

As previously stated, leaders must change the status quo, otherwise they are not leading (Godin, 73). People who follow the status quo tend to be “sheepwalkers” rather than leaders. Sheepwalkers are employees who have been raised to be obedient of their employer and afraid of the security of their job (Godin, 96). There are many examples of sheepwalkers in today’s world. One example is a majority of college students who are taught to be compliant and do everything as they are told in order to pass their classes. Another example of sheepwalking taking place is during an employee’s first day on the job. Typically, an employee will go through a training process where they learn to be compliant and do everything as they are told so that they do not risk losing their job. In Tribes, Godin offers solutions to solve the sheepwalking problem that is hurting the number of leaders there are in the world today. He states that people have the option to not be a sheepwalker and instead follow their own path rather than whatever everyone else is doing. Also, Godin states that the most important thing that must happen is that employers must embrace people who challenge the status quo and are willing to color outside the lines (Godin, 99). These people should be rewarded instead of being rejected for sheepwalkers just because they are easier and compliant. True leaders want followers who are aspire to become leaders in their own rights rather than to be sheepwalkers. Going back to the example regarding college students, if more teachers allowed their students freedom then those students would grow up to be leaders rather than sheepwalkers. The same would go for the new employee showing up on the first day of job and as a result, there will be less sheepwalkers and more leaders ready to create