Here’s the thing: I have never done a book review on this site before and probably won’t do another, however, as someone who has lived amongst, and worked with, actual tribes in Papua New Guinea who up until about twenty years ago were still practicing cannibalism, I had a lot of hesitancy when I first heard the title of the new book.

image: Village Big Man and Tribal Leader Erukai and family; Kakoro, Papua New Guinea

What could this marketing guy from New York possibly know about tribes? Does he know that in Papua New Guinea the tribal leaders are known as ‘Big Men’ or that in Samoa they call elders ‘Matai’ and they have different designations whether they are a village orator or in charge of land resources.

I have been a reader of Seth’s blog for quite some time now, and he has even been kind enough to answer simple business questions for me from time to time. But, for this book, “TRIBES,” I was not prepared to drink the Kool AId just because Mr. Godin wrote it.

Quite possibly, because the tribes I am most familiar with (literally) rely on each other for survival. Promoting products or trying to increase brand awareness could quite possibly be the furthest thing from their minds. If the tribes I know stop functioning or have a leadership breakdown, the reality is, they face life-threatening circumstances.

Read the rest of this entry »

Those who lead a subsistence existence grow only enough food to feed their family, support their animal’s grazing area or farmland, and perhaps to provide a small marketable surplus.

Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine if you will, that you have survived three months of Peace Corps brainwashing training in the beautiful Papua New Guinea Highland’s town known as Goroka. With training finished you and your unbridled enthusiasm head for the airport to get on a plane that looks like a tin can with an engine to make your way to your new village where you will spend the next two years.

Read the rest of this entry »