ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Derek Sivers - Entrepreneur
Through his new project, MuckWork, Derek Sivers wants to lessen the burdens (and boredom) of creative people.

Why you should listen

Derek Sivers is best known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician since 1987, he started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too. CD Baby was the largest seller of independent music on the web, with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients.

In 2008, Sivers sold CD Baby to focus on his new ventures to benefit musicians, including his new company, MuckWork, where teams of efficient assistants help musicians do their "uncreative dirty work."

More profile about the speaker
Derek Sivers | Speaker | TED.com
TED2010

Derek Sivers: How to start a movement

Filmed:
8,596,071 views

With help from some surprising footage, Derek Sivers explains how movements really get started. (Hint: it takes two.)
- Entrepreneur
Through his new project, MuckWork, Derek Sivers wants to lessen the burdens (and boredom) of creative people. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
So, ladies and gentlemen, at TED
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Ndi ohaneze, na TED
00:17
we talk a lot about leadership and how to make a movement.
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anyi na ekwu maka ichi na otu ibido ihe
00:20
So let's watch a movement happen, start to finish, in under three minutes
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Ka anyi lee anya otu ihe na aga, site na mbido ruo na ngwucha, na ikeji ato
00:23
and dissect some lessons from it.
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ma mutakwa ihe ona akuzi
00:26
First, of course you know, a leader needs the guts
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Nke mbu, okwa unu ma na onye na edu kwesiri igbasike
00:28
to stand out and be ridiculed.
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ime ihe ndi ozo ga eji chia ya ochi.
00:32
But what he's doing is so easy to follow.
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mana ihe o na eme di mfe iso
00:34
So here's his first follower with a crucial role;
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Ebe a onye mbu na eso ya nwere oru di ezigbo mkpa
00:37
he's going to show everyone else how to follow.
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oga egosi nmadu nile otu ha ga esi eso
00:39
Now, notice that the leader embraces him as an equal.
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Ugbu a, lee ka onye na edu ga esi gbako ya ka ha bu nwanna
00:41
So, now it's not about the leader anymore;
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Ugbu a, obughikwa maka onye na edu
00:43
it's about them, plural.
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obu maka ha abuo,
00:45
Now, there he is calling to his friends.
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Ugbu a, o na akpo ndi enyi ya.
00:47
Now, if you notice that the first follower
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Ugbu a, unu ga ahu na onye na eso na mbu
00:49
is actually an underestimated form of leadership in itself.
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buzi ezigbo onye isi na onwe ya
00:53
It takes guts to stand out like that.
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ona bu inwe obi ikwu cha puta otu anwu
00:55
The first follower is what transforms
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onye izizi na eso bu onye gbanwe
00:58
a lone nut into a leader.
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onye noru onwe ya to onye ndu
01:00
(Laughter)
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(imu amu)
01:02
(Applause)
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(iku aka)
01:05
And here comes a second follower.
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onye nke ibou na eso abia
01:07
Now it's not a lone nut, it's not two nuts --
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kita oburuzi ofu onye or nmadu abou,
01:09
three is a crowd, and a crowd is news.
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nmadu ato bu igwe, igwe bu news
01:12
So a movement must be public.
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so iga na iru ga bu na iro
01:14
It's important to show not just to show the leader, but the followers,
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odi nkpa, not just igosi onye na edu, mana igosi ndi na eso
01:17
because you find that new followers
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maka na ndi ofu na eso
01:19
emulate the followers, not the leader.
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na eso ndi na eso, not onye na edu
01:22
Now, here come two more people, and immediately after,
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kita, odi nmadu nabu na abia and ozugbo
01:24
three more people.
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nmadu ito more
01:26
Now we've got momentum. This is the tipping point.
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kita anyi weh momentum. Oge anu wa ka anyi akwuru
01:28
Now we've got a movement.
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kita ka anyi ga agawu ibido
01:32
So, notice that, as more people join in,
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so, nee ka ndi nmadu na join
01:34
it's less risky.
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odi less risky
01:36
So those that were sitting on the fence before, now have no reason not to.
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ndi kno ani na fence, kita nwe reason not to
01:39
They won't stand out,
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ha ama kwuchapu
01:41
they won't be ridiculed,
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ha ama di ridiculed
01:43
but they will be part of the in-crowd if they hurry.
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mana ha ga abu ofu na ime igwe ma ha gasia ike
01:45
(Laughter)
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(imu amu)
01:48
So, over the next minute,
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So, over the next minute
01:50
you'll see all of those that prefer to stick with the crowd
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Iga afu ndi ga a prefer ikwu with igwe
01:52
because eventually they would be ridiculed
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maka eventually ha ga adi ridiculed
01:54
for not joining in.
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maka na ha a joinuro
01:56
And that's how you make a movement.
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and otu anwo ka ige esi abido ihe
01:58
But let's recap some lessons from this.
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mana kanyi che maka ihe anyi mu ta
02:00
So first, if you are the type,
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ife izizi, obu na gi di ka
02:03
like the shirtless dancing guy that is standing alone,
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onye anwu na ehiro efe na agba eqwu na onwe ya
02:06
remember the importance of nurturing
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rota na odi nmkpa nurturing
02:08
your first few followers as equals
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ndi izizi na eso gi ka unu abu ogbo
02:10
so it's clearly about the movement, not you.
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so, obu maka ibodo ihe and not gi
02:13
Okay, but we might have missed the real lesson here.
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Okay, mana anyi we ike ilofu ihe anyi na amu eba
02:16
The biggest lesson, if you noticed --
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nukwu te ihe akuzi, if you noticed
02:18
did you catch it? -- is that leadership
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obu na ige nti -- bu na idu
02:20
is over-glorified.
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di over-glorified
02:22
That, yes, it was the shirtless guy who was first,
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na, yes, obu onye na ehiro efe bu uzo
02:24
and he'll get all the credit,
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nya na ewuru afa nine
02:26
but it was really the first follower
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mana obu onye izizi na iso uzo
02:28
that transformed the lone nut into a leader.
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ga atuhari ofu onye ka oburu onye ndu
02:31
So, as we're told that we should all be leaders,
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so, ka ha gwaru anyi na anyi nine ga abu ndi ndu
02:33
that would be really ineffective.
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ihe anwu enwero isi
02:35
If you really care about starting a movement,
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obu na odi gi ka ifu ibido ihe
02:37
have the courage to follow
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inwe ume weh soru
02:39
and show others how to follow.
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yana igosi ndi nmadu uzo
02:41
And when you find a lone nut doing something great,
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and oge ifu onye noru onwe ya na eme ihe di egwu
02:43
have the guts to be the first one
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nweru obi ibu onye izizi
02:45
to stand up and join in.
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ikwuru oto na ibanye
02:47
And what a perfect place to do that, at TED.
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owero ebe ka nma ime ya na aburo, TED.
02:49
Thanks.
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daru
02:51
(Applause)
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(iku aka)
Translated by Chichi Etteh
Reviewed by TED Open Translation

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Derek Sivers - Entrepreneur
Through his new project, MuckWork, Derek Sivers wants to lessen the burdens (and boredom) of creative people.

Why you should listen

Derek Sivers is best known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician since 1987, he started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too. CD Baby was the largest seller of independent music on the web, with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients.

In 2008, Sivers sold CD Baby to focus on his new ventures to benefit musicians, including his new company, MuckWork, where teams of efficient assistants help musicians do their "uncreative dirty work."

More profile about the speaker
Derek Sivers | Speaker | TED.com

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