Now that you have a tribe, you can grow it, and to do that you need to organize the tribe. It’s not so hard. Once you start talking and paying attention, you’ll be surprised at how many guys are starving to get out and do things. Action. Adventure. It’s in our blood, just waiting for a spark.
But back to building. Get over that initial hurdle you might have about being shy or exclusive and start thinking about being inclusive. An easy technique is to just say, “Hey man, a couple of buddies and I are going motorcycle riding next weekend, and I heard you ride. We’ve got room for a new guy. . . .”
The key here is that a) you’re doing something with or without the new guy, b) you’ve got a hard date set, which makes the invitation real, and c) because you’re going anyway, the door is open and there’s a great incentive to join in the action — but no undue pressure. (Save the pressure for guys you know well.)
If the new guy is an expert, you can flat-out ask for his help . . . but if he meshes with your tribe, his expertise will come out and pretty soon he’ll be leading an expedition.
Here’s another tip on how to think about your adventuring crew: Not all guys will be interested in doing the same things. Some guys hunt far more than fish. Some guys are game for adventure racing, and other guys marinate the beef and always have a cooler full of beer on ice. Our tribe has people who are good at certain things and we actively leverage them. One of our IT guys is great at research, so he handles regulations and zoning. Someone always has a GPS, so they get to handle the navigation. We have some hobbyist photographers who capture the video and photos for the trips. Different guys have different skills and access to equipment or geographic locations. Finally, every tribe needs a gadget guru — the guy who has everything for camping, fishing, duck hunting, whatever. Just make sure you get one of those jack-of-everything guys.
Last and most important, make sure you get your rookie for each trip.
