What’s a “Tribe of Millionaires?”

Hi, this is Wayne Rivers at FBI where We Build Better Contractors.

This week I want to do a book review. This book is called Tribe of Millionaires. It was recommended to me and the other 
members of my peer group by Scott Schrogan. And a terrific book, in terms of the actual text of the book and not just 
some of the background stuff, it's about 150 pages. You can read it on the plane, on a trip of any duration. It's kind of a 
fictionalized account of an entrepreneur who finds himself in deep trouble at work. He sort of outrun his headlights, and 
he has just lost his father from whom he was estranged. So, it really is quite a clever way to discuss some of the important 
issues that the book gets into.

Now, before I get too deep, Boot Camp in Raleigh, February 9 and 10, 2023. Get your folks signed up as soon as you can.

All right. Now, what about this is important to you? Well, the name Tribe of Millionaires isn't descriptive, I don't think, of 
what the book is all about. What the book is all about is people and learning from other people. So, at his dad's funeral, 
now the guy's estranged from his father, but at the funeral he meets these people who appear to be super successful, 
super put together, super composed, just they seem like people that have everything in life going their way. And he's 
really taken aback because these guys have nothing but words of praise for his dad. Now, he thought his dad was a 
rapacious, robber baron type that was out there just getting rich at all costs, and he just didn't care about the people 
around him. And at the funeral, as he listens to the people delivering testimonials and eulogy, his dad was viewed entirely 
180 degrees different by the people with whom he worked. And he really starts to think about, "What in the world did I 
miss as this father's son? What do they know that I don't know?" And then you get into the story of the book.

Now, they talk about six effects that we all need to be successful. The first, let me just, I'll go through them real quickly.

The influence effect. What they say in the book, and what I have to agree with after 30 plus years of working with other 
people is, the most powerful influence on you, your behavior and your future is the people around you. Those people 
have the power to change your destiny for good or ill. Be super selective about the people with whom you surround 
yourself.

Second, the multiplier effect. These people don't just add to your efforts, they multiply them. If they're the right people 
around you, they multiply your efforts. They just don't add. It's not incremental improvement, it's multiples of 
improvement. They add ideas, raw material for new ideas, clarity, encouragement, and ultimately ways to execute better 
and just as important, faster than you would on your own.

The third thing is the accountability effect. Most of us are not accountable. Most of us at lead companies are not 
accountable. Well, I have a boss now, but for most of my career, I didn't. And for most of the folks that are running 
construction companies out there, you don't have a boss either. You might have a board, but you know. So, accountability 
is super important because it's really, really, really hard to hold yourself accountable the way you should.

The fourth thing is the authenticity effect. People, the right people, again, help you see yourself clearer than you would 
by yourself. We judge other people by their actions. We judge our ownselves, ourselves by our intentions. And that's one 
of the reasons it's hard for us to hold ourselves accountable.

The fifth one, the purpose effect. This might be the most important one. A powerful purpose helps you overcome the 
greatest obstacles, and the right people around you keep you on purpose, versus allowing you to just sort of spin off into 
random orbits, chasing this opportunity after another. So, focus is a key part of it, and that's the purpose effect.

And finally, the connection effect. Connection is your greatest purpose in life. You know the cliche that nobody on their 
deathbed ever said that I should have spent more time at the office. So, connection with other people is your greatest 
purpose in life. And one thing that I thought that was really profound that I 100% agree with in the book is they said that
"A life dedicated to connection is a life free from regret." Think about that. I think that's absolutely true. And as I age, I get 
closer to retirement. I agree that we work so hard, we pedal the bicycle so hard, and we're so focused for so many years. 
We almost keep people at arm’s length. And as I get older, I know, realizing that the connection to other people is really 
what it's all about.

What is this book promoting? Well, it's promoting a peer group, their version of what a peer group is. I have no problem 
with that. It's a great story and it just elevates my consciousness and I think your consciousness of what having the right 
peers around you can mean to you. One thing that really, really, really struck me in the book was in the forward actually, 
and it said, "Creating the life you want is a team sport, not an individual sport." And honestly, if I had thought about that, 
if I'd learned these things, if I'd had the right peers when I was 40, instead of joining a peer group when I was in my early 
50s, what other things could I have accomplished? How many other people could we have helped at FBI? So anyway, being 
in a peer group is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I hope you're in a peer group of one sort or another. If 
you're not, look into it. It's really life changing.

Let me know. Let me know what works for you. Are you in a peer group? What was your experience? Was it good, bad, or 
indifferent? I'd like to hear from you in the comments section. This is Wayne Rivers at FBI, where We Build Better Contractors.