Today after my radio broadcast, I was listening to a video from the TED conference of Seth Godin, talking about “the Tribes we lead”.
So a few minutes into the speech Seth said, “Heretics are the ones that reject the status quo”. I quickly learned that he was talking about me. I am the bird on the sign.
Heretics can’t abide by the status quo and want to stand up and be counted. I actually like the term change agent better than heretic, but the notion is the same, so I’ll go with it!
If you look back at my musings on this blog, I reject the status quo, that the travel industry revolves around the airlines and air travelers and that the future of technology and the future of online travel has to continue to focus on not only air travelers but vacation travel. Air travel only represents 15% of all travel in the US and only 8% of overnight travel. Vacation travel is only 8% of all travel spending. Yet we as an industry have been OBSESSED with this tiny slice of the pie and bemoan the fact that even that small slice is shrinking.
At the end of the video Seth gives out a challenge. I’ll let you watch the video and then will say that it is time to stand up and be counted. Be a part of the Drive Market Tribe.
Stand up and be counted. Don’t be a “sheep walker”. Help me tell a story and connect the tribe. Let’s lead the movement of this industry out of the “sea of same”, commoditization, to an integrated world where we help people travel across town, to life events, to their next “memory” and we help people connect with information, tools and relationships.
I fully agree that travel is not just about getting somewhere. As you say, it is much more about discovering and connecting.
We picked up on the same point from Seth’s video, the Heretics. Find my reflection at http://sustainableteams.org/2009/05/15/can-we-direct-slow-unconscious-change-processes/