1. Butch's Quests
   1. Start by observing the way people behave at your company
      1. People naturally form groups
      2. These groups seem to be locked into an ongoing, low-intensity war
         1. mutual accusations & complaints
         2. perception of threats
         3. actions to "even things out"
         4. disputes
         5. invasion of territory
         6. switches in alliances
      3. Some are perceived as "enemies", and treated with distrust and suspicion
      4. These groups develop their own identity, and treat outsiders with suspicion
      5. Individuals seem to prefer to subordinated their desires to that of the group, rather than taking a stand
      6. In spite of our efforts to create organizational structures that are supposed to define the relationships between individuals, they prefer to create their own relationships and associations
   2. What is the oldest form of organizational structure?
      1. Tribes appear to be the oldest organizational form. We don't call them that anymore, but they still exist today.
      2. People still seem to behave according to deeply engrained tribal rules
      3. If you can understand this hard-wired, social behaviour, you can build your own tribes and gain access to one of the deepest and strongest motivators that drive humans
      4. Most organizations exists in a somewhat steady state. Everyone knows that the company will function more or less in the same way from one year to the next. In this corporate equilibrium, tribal membership, tribal identity and tribal interaction are the only social mechanisms people can use to define their identity and social behaviour
      5. Rather than writing mission statements, work at building a new tribe
   3. Identify the attributes that make a strong tribe
2. 5 Dimensions
   1. #1: Individuals are socially, emotionally and psychologically defined by their tribal membership
      1. We can infer the way people will behave by looking at the different combinations of individual and tribal dimensions
      2. Companies go from the pinnacle of success to extinction not so much from bad business decisions, but rather from a self-reinforced slide into oblivion
         1. There is a highly predictable "Death Spiral"
            1. TV+IV+
            2. TV-IV+
            3. TV-IV-
            4. TS+IS+
            5. IS-IS+
            6. TS-IS-
         2. The ideal combination for individuals is IS+IV+, but for tribes is TV-TS+
            1. There has to be one unachieved goal, the one tantalizing issue that is still missing from complete TV+
      3. A strong tribe automatically creates a strong people focus without the involvement of management. Separating out the tribal dynamics and managing it in isolation fees up management time.
         1. Great tribes create great people. It's an interactive, self-reinforcing process.
         2. The two facets (individuals and tribes) should be managed separately
         3. When this is not done (or done poorly) people live in a pervasive state of concern for damage to their IS or IV. They stick to safe, mundane ways of doing things, in hopes that they will survive.
         4. Because people need to find a way to deal with this ambiguous, dual need for validating their individual value and securing their tribe survival, change within organizations is not about changing how the organizational processes function, but more about the way people individually reinvent and reestablish the balance between individual value and tribal membership. if they cannot see a way to do so, they are blamed for being resistant to change.
   2. #2: Individuals act to reinforce their security when under threat (IS - Individual Security)
      1. In bad times, the individual subordinates their personal desires and aspirations to that of the group.
      2. Individuals who find themselves under threat will find refuge and safety in their tribe
      3. At the root of all our actions there's one driver: survival. Tribes exist to accomplish for the individual that which they cannot achieve on their own. The tribe's survival and control enable the individual to improve their own survival and control.
      4. Only when survival is assured does individual value become important
   3. #3: Individuals act to reinforce their self-worth when their security is not under threat (IV - Individual Value)
   4. #4: Tribes act to secure their self-preservation if their security is under threat (TS - Tribal Security)
      1. if everyone experiences the same threat, the tribe will act to secure its survival and thereby attempt to guarantee the survival of all its members
   5. #5: Tribes act to reinforce their self-worth when their security is not under threat (TV - Tribal Value)
3. Motivation
   1. we cannot 'manage' people to be highly motivated. It can only come from belonging to a strong tribe, one that gives an enduring sense of increased self-worth
   2. high motivation levels come from building a unified tribe, not from manipulating individuals
   3. Traditional motivational models deal with the individual
      1. Content Theories
         1. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
         2. Herzberg's Hygene and Motivator Factors
         3. McClelland's Three Groups of Needs (affiliation, achievement, power)
      2. Process
         1. Vroom's Three Aspects (intrumentality, expectancy, valence)
         2. Adam's Equity Theroy
         3. Reinforcement Theory / Operant Conditioning
   4. Deep down, out tribal affiliation is the only true motivator
      1. Our behaviour is driven by the continuous interplay between our tribes and ourselves
      2. Only the tribe can determine the individual's value
      3. If the tribe does better than I do, then my value is lowered in the eyes of the tribe, and I may be ejected
      4. The continuous interplay between individual security and and value on the one hand and tribal security and value on the other determines both individual and tribal motivation
4. 23 Attributes
   1. #1: A strong tribe must have a common enemy
      1. Blaming an outside party seemed to provide reassurance to your own and a way to share thoughts and opinions without confrontation
      2. Tribes use collective names to describe not only their members but their common enemy. By distinguishing members from non-members the tribe is better defined.
         1. are collective nouns used in a derogatory manner to describe outsiders?
         2. are collective nouns used to describe members in a way that strengthens their commitment and pride to be associated with us?
   2. #2: A strong tribe has clearly defined symbols
      1. By introducing symbols, we create tribes
      2. Symbols create a sense of unity
   3. #3: A strong tribe offers a superordinate identity to all sub-tribes
      1. tribes cannot be amalgamated and the continue to exist as separate entities wherever possible. The only way to overcome this is to create a new super-tribe, different from all the existing tribes
   4. #4: A strong tribe has a credible, just cause for its continued existence
      1. something great, a calling that is greater than its vision and mission. Something so compelling that people feel their IV is strongly enhanced if they ascribe to the cause.
   5. #5: A strong tribe has an accepted rite of passage
      1. By participating in a challenging event, we form a bond. a sense of mutual pride or respect
      2. the rite of passage must be significant and clearly linked to the just cause
      3. the tribe should validate the rite of passage, not some outsider
      4. it should delineate clearly what went before and what came into being after the rite was completed
      5. it must add to the individual's stature or capability within the tribe
      6. Subtopic 6
   6. #6: A strong tribe has clear external measures of success
      1. Measures of success have nothing to do with operational performance. They have everything to do with the capability and strength of the tribe
   7. #7: A strong tribe understands and protects its source of power
   8. #8: A strong tribe knows how it compares to the 'Untouchables'
      1. Tribes derive identity by not being part of a tribe (the Untouchables)
      2. It serves to define TV+
   9. #9: The criteria for tribal membership are clear and credible
      1. Members must achieve some standard, some level of proficiency that justifies their membership of the tribe
   10. #10. Communicates in a non-traditional, subjective and intuitive manner.
       1. The recipient immediately decodes messages in tribal context, and their response will be in the same tribal context
       2. tribe/Individual + enemy/ally dimensions
          1. Enemy tribe-to-tribe
          2. Ally tribe-to-tribe
          3. Enemy tribe-to-individual
          4. Ally tribe-to-individual
          5. Enemy individual-to-tribe
          6. Ally individual-to-tribe
          7. Enemy individual-to-individual
          8. Ally individual-to-individual
       3. To significantly enhance motivation and commitment, you have to ensure that the four enemy-related communication contexts are used to help define and describe the common enemy, and that the four ally-related contexts are used to reinforce the just cause
       4. Anything that strengthens IS, IV, TS and TV or supports the common cause or attacks the common enemy will be perceived as positive and collaborative. Anything that does the opposite will be perceived as enemy communication.
   11. #11: A strong tribe develops its own language
       1. It's a way to reinforce identity and membership
   12. #12: Tribal roles are fundamentally different from accepted functional roles
       1. Hunter
       2. Farmer
       3. Caregiver
       4. Chieftain
       5. Elder
       6. Herder
       7. Storyteller
       8. Witchdoctor
       9. Spy
       10. Builder
   13. #13: Strong tribes record and celebrate significant events that reinforce their identity and value
   14. #14: A strong tribe has a clearly defined and well-known justice mechanism
       1. tribal justice systems are usually restorative, not retributive
          1. structured as rules of social conduct
          2. derived from inputs defined by the members
          3. the judges are selected amongts the members
          4. the rules are to correct what has been wronged and to maintain harmony, not to punish
          5. judicial decisions are communicated to everyone
       2. take care that the restorative justice mechanism is not corrupted to serve the ends for tribes within the company. It happens very easily.
   15. #15: A strong tribe has a clearly defined icon that embodies the tribal value
       1. we can only define and create an icon if we understand, define and agree on the values it's supposed to represent
   16. #16: a strong tribe has a walled city - a place of refuge where things of value to the tribe are kept
   17. #17: A strong tribe possesses objects of value that embody the tribe's values
   18. #18: A strong tribe as a revered figurehead
       1. makes people find easier to relate to one another
       2. On the downside, it can allow people to avoid moral responsibility by externalizing and rationalizing behaviours ostensively approved by the figurehead
   19. #19: a strong tribe celebrates and cares for the skills, tools and implements required for its prosperity
   20. #20: a strong tribe expects unquestioning loyalty
   21. #21: A strong tribe has clearly defined roles, responsibilities, values, authority, power structure and chain of command
   22. #22: a strong tribe has a leader dedicated to the tribe's success
   23. #23: Strong leaders have capable mentors whose psychological limits exceed their own
       1. you can only be truly confident in yourself if the limit of what you're willing and capable of doing is much higher than the situation you face
       2. Understand your own psychological limits
       3. When an organization operates at the psychological limit of their leaders, it cannot grow.
5. Tribal-aware Strategies
   1. Co-responsibility
      1. every person is made responsible of the safety of two other people (in the same cell or department)
      2. IS goes up because I know others are looking out for my safety
      3. IV then goes up, because I would be making a meaningful contribution
      4. TS then goes up, because everyone is involved in the security of others
      5. TV then goes up when the tribe sees their safety go up collectively