AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS IS YET TO EMBRACE THE POWER OF THE TRIBE – 3 OBSERVATIONS A couple of years ago, I attended an AFL game between Fremantle and Collingwood. This was one of the more memorable experiences of my life. I learned three things: Sitting through 100 minutes of football is not easy for me. Fremantle […]

AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS IS YET TO EMBRACE THE POWER OF THE TRIBE – 3 OBSERVATIONS A couple of years ago, I attended an AFL game between Fremantle and Collingwood. This was one of the more memorable experiences of my life. I learned three things: Sitting through 100 minutes of football is not easy for me. Fremantle – Collingwood games are not a sophisticated experience. Tribalism is alive, well, and incredibly powerful. It is the last of these points that I will focus on here. The Royal Commission into child abuse in Australia demonstrated the poor behaviour of the Catholic Church – both in terms of clergy abusing children, and senior clergy covering it up. Given these findings, it is incredible that the church has any following at all. But it does, and that is because of blind faith combined with tribalism. Reflecting the power of tribalism, Seth Godin in 2008, wrote…