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It Takes a Tribe
  • Published: 7 September 2017
  • ISBN: 9780241979327
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 256

It Takes a Tribe

Building the Tough Mudder Movement




How to build a 'tribe' in any team and business, from the founder of the obstacle course phenomenon Tough Mudder

Tough Mudder is not a race. It's a challenge.

Unlike other endurance events, Tough Mudder encourages team spirit. The course's design forces you to seek help from others and with twenty obstacles, forty tons of ice and five hundred thousand litres of Grade-A mud set over ten to twelve miles, you're going to need it.

This revival of community is the key to the company's success. In It Takes a Tribe, founder and CEO Will Dean explores the mental, physical and social principles behind the experience and reveals how he built a global tribe. Arguing for clear principles, bravery and persistence, Dean shows a new generation of entrepreneurs why it's important to create a brand that people identify with and love.

It Takes a Tribe is the astonishing inside story of Tough Mudder, and a textbook for anyone looking to start a business or find more followers.

  • Published: 7 September 2017
  • ISBN: 9780241979327
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 256

About the author

Will Dean

Will Dean is editorial assistant and junior writer on the Guardian Guide. He is the former editor of Cardiff University's Quench magazine.

Praise for It Takes a Tribe

Gripping - reveals what it takes to stand by your values

ADAM GRANT, Wharton professor and bestselling author of 'Originals' and co-author of 'Option B'

Like any great startup story, Tough Mudder's story is full of twists and turns. But It Takes a Tribe is also a thoughtful argument about what really drives business

RICHARD REED, co-founder of Innocent Drinks

Convincing people to spend hours running through the mud is no easy task. Building a business where millions of people pay money to do this would be ridiculous. But Will Dean has done it, and this gripping book reveals what it takes to stand by your values and create an organization that stands for those values

ADAM GRANT, bestselling author of 'Originals' and co-author of 'Option B'

Will's story - and his races - are proof that the obstacle is always the way

RYAN HOLIDAY, author of 'The Obstacle is the Way'

Will Dean is one of the most important leaders of his generation - boldly pushing back on our digitally obsessed culture to get us out of our comfort zones, into the mud, working as a team and discovering all sorts of potential along the way. It Takes a Tribe is loaded with brilliant stories, lessons and inspiration that will make you want to jump off your couch and go make an impact!

SARAH ROBB O’HAGAN, founder of Extreme You

The power of internal motivation, great leadership, and team building. Will Dean demonstrates all this and more in It Takes a Tribe

BRANDON WEBB, former Navy SEAL, author of The Red Circle and Total Focus, and CEO of Hurricane Group

This book shows that an entrepreneur with imagination and nerve can make a real difference by creating life-changing opportunities for thousands of people across the world

GENERAL (RETD.) SIR NICK PARKER

Will Dean has created one of the most original and inventive brands in the world, and his story will be valuable for anyone looking to change the rules of business

BRETT YORMARK, CEO, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment

At its core, It Takes A Tribe is a book about us. It goes beyond our ability to overcome obstacles and delves into how shared adversity is actually a powerful force in building deep, lasting bonds with others

SIMON SINEK, optimist and author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last

The idea of Tough Mudder is not to win...but to have a story to tell

New York Times

the crux of Tough Mudder - pushing yourself to your limit while having fun as part of a team

The Telegraph

an international cult event

International Business Times

a brutal military-style obstacle course that's becoming a global phenomenon

Financial Times