Seth Godin wrote on his blog today about what it means to be a lifelong fan -- whether it be of a sports team, a car company, a political party, or, in his words, "anything where affiliation drives our sense of self and community."
There's a powerful sentence in the middle of his post and it's this one here:
"People like us do things like this."
We often make decisions about products, brands, and even where to live based on a narrative that we craft for ourselves. We tell ourselves that I am the kind of person who lives in this neighborhood and drives this car. People like us do things like this.
There's an innate, emotional, and sometimes nonsensical desire to be part of what Seth calls our chosen "tribe." And tribe does really feel like the right word. We all want to be a part of something. It helps to create meaning.
So what's your internal narrative? It probably determines how you hire for many of the "jobs" you need filled.