The reason it s so hard to follow Meaning Factcheck Usage

You know, “The reason it’s so hard to follow the leader…” is such a powerful insight. It flips the entire idea of leadership on its head, suggesting that true leaders aren’t just the fastest or strongest, but the ones brave enough to rewrite the rules first. It’s about narrative control, not just market share.

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Table of Contents

• Meaning
• Explanation
• Origin & Factcheck
• Context
• Usage Examples
• FAQ

Meaning

At its core, this quote means that leadership is an act of narrative innovation. It’s not about perfecting the existing game; it’s about starting a whole new one that others then feel compelled to join.

Explanation

Let me break this down for you. In any field, there’s a dominant story—the “way things are done.” The leader isn’t the person who executes that old story best. Nope. The leader is the one who sees its flaws, its limitations, and has the guts to tell a new, more compelling story. Think about it. The first company to say “computers should be beautiful objects in your home” (Apple) wasn’t following the “computers are beige office equipment” story. They changed it. And once that new story is out there, everyone else is instantly playing catch-up. They’re followers, reacting to a new reality they didn’t create. That lag, that disorientation, that’s why it’s so hard. You’re not just copying a product; you’re trying to adopt a brand new worldview, and that’s incredibly difficult. It’s a mental shift.

Quote Summary

Context	Attributes
Original Language	English (3669)
Category	Skill (416)
Topics	change (101), innovation (32), leadership (111)
Literary Style	compact (12), witty (99)
Emotion / Mood	inspiring (392)
Overall Quote Score	82 (297)

Origin & Factcheck

This gem comes straight from Seth Godin’s 2005 book, All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. It’s a US publication, and it’s often misunderstood—he’s not talking about literal lying, but about the essential, authentic stories that frame our world. You won’t find this quote wrongly attributed to others; it’s pure Godin.

Attribution Summary

Context	Attributes
Author	Seth Godin (100)
Source Type	Book (4032)
Source/Book Name	All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World (57)
Origin Timeperiod	21st Century (1891)
Original Language	English (3669)
Authenticity	Verified (4032)

Where is this quotation located?

Quotation	The reason it’s so hard to follow the leader is this: the leader is the one who changed the story first
Book Details	Publication Year/Date: 2005; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591841009; Last edition: Portfolio Penguin 2012; Number of pages: 240.
Where is it?	Chapter 11: The Leader’s Story, page 108, 2012 edition

Context

Godin places this idea in the world of marketing. The book’s whole premise is that consumers buy based on the stories they tell themselves, not just on features. So, the “leader” in this sense is the marketer or entrepreneur who successfully introduces a new story that resonates so deeply it makes the old one obsolete.

Usage Examples

I’ve seen this play out so many times. Here’s who should be paying attention:

• Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Stop asking “how can I do what Company X does, but cheaper?” Instead, ask “What story are they telling, and what better, more authentic story can I tell?” That’s your entry point.
• Team Leaders & Managers: Don’t just manage the existing process. Change the internal story. Shift the narrative from “we just hit our quarterly targets” to “we are the team that solves our customers’ biggest frustrations.” You lead by changing that story first.
• Content Creators: The most successful creators don’t follow trends; they start them. They see a gap in the conversation and they fill it with a new perspective, a new format—a new story that their audience didn’t even know they were waiting for.

To whom it appeals?

Context	Attributes
Theme	Wisdom (1754)
Audiences	entrepreneurs (1007), leaders (2620), managers (441)
Usage Context/Scenario	innovation conferences (9), leadership seminars (97), team meetings (67)

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FAQ

Question: Does “changing the story” mean I have to invent something completely new?

Answer: Not at all. It’s often about reframing what already exists. Airbnb didn’t invent spare rooms; they changed the story from “cheap lodging” to “belong anywhere.” It’s a perspective shift.

Question: What if my new story fails and no one follows?

Answer: That’s the risk, and it happens. But the key is authenticity. The stories that work are the ones that are true to your core beliefs and resonate with a specific worldview. A failed story is often just one that wasn’t authentic or well-targeted.

Question: Is this only applicable in business?

Answer: Absolutely not. Think about social movements, art, even your personal life. The individual who decides to change their own narrative—from “I’m a victim of circumstance” to “I am the author of my life”—is exercising this exact same leadership principle on a personal level.