How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Simon Sinek
It's such a powerful question that Simon Sinek, author of “Start With Why” has made a career out of it. He has formulated a simple visual known as the “Golden Circle” in which WHY sits at the center with HOW and WHAT emerging from within. This concept, born of his personal experience and reflection, transformed his very own business and catapulted his career.
Although the majority of the book is geared towards the power of having a clear WHY (aka Vision) in business, the principles extend to the individual. In fact, the power of an individual’s WHY is demonstrated through numerous examples of entrepreneurs who have grown multi-million/multi-billion dollar companies through the clarity of their WHY and their ability to attract others who share similar values.
Throughout the book, Simon Sinek provides some powerful examples of entrepreneurs and companies who have successfully pivoted from one niche to another, and even more extreme, one industry to another. These cases paint the clear picture of how a true WHY is deeply intrinsic to one’s core values.
As such, acting from a clear WHY can allow a company to evolve their products and services in new ways that align to their why. In other words, their HOW and WHAT become fluid. To the contrary, when a company is focussed on WHAT they do without communicating a clear WHY, a dramatic shift in products/services appears motivated solely by a desire to increase profits. Such shifts do not yield brand loyalty, and can instead lead to the opposite.
It just makes sense! Your WHY is the litmus test against which your actions can be measured. If your WHY is clear then it becomes apparent if your actions are inline with your values. HOW you do things and WHAT you do make sense, even if someone doesn’t agree with them… It still is clear as to WHY you are doing them. In the business world, and in personal affairs, this breeds trust and subsequently loyalty. Without a clear WHY, businesses are forced to resort to manipulations to promote sales. Manipulations range from celebrity endorsements (peer pressure), to rebates and promotions (two for one), even the use of fear (“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”) and aspirations (lose 10 lbs in just 3 weeks). In any case, the consumer has no real relationship with the company and must be manipulated to select one product over another. To the contrary, when given a selection of options for a specific product or service, in most cases, people will select the one that aligns with their values… but with no clear front-runner… the company with the best manipulation is the Winner!
What does your Vision statement look like? Is your WHY communicated clearly? Have HOW you do things and WHAT you do veered from the original reason (WHY) you went into business? Reconnect to your passion and break free from the pack by putting WHY at the center of everything you do!
There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Peer pressure works not because the majority or the experts are always right, but because we fear that we may be wrong. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money–that’s a result. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? Simon Sinek : Start With Why
People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Our need to belong is not rational, but it is a constant that exists across all people in all cultures. It is a feeling we get when those around us share our values and beliefs. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Decision-making and the ability to explain those decisions exist in different parts of the brain. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
To lead requires those who willingly follow. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Nouns are not actionable. They are things. You can’t build systems or develop incentives around those things. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Authenticity cannot be achieved without clarity of WHY Simon Sinek : Start With Why
For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs. It’s not “integrity,” it’s “always do the right thing.” It’s not “innovation,” it’s “look at the problem from a different angle.” Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea… we have a clear idea of how to act in any situation. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
The only way people will know what you believe is by the things you say and do, and if you’re not consistent in the things you say and do, no one will know what you believe. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. People are either motivated or they are not. Unless you give motivated people something to believe in, something bigger than their job to work toward, they will motivate themselves to find a new job and you’ll be stuck with whoever’s left. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Energy motivates but charisma inspires. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
The vision is the public statement of the founder’s intent, WHY the company exists. It is literally the vision of a future that does not yet exist. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
The mission statement is a description of the route, the guiding principles–HOW the company intends to create that future. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
WHY never changes. WHAT you do can change with the times, but WHY you do it never does. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Success and achievement are not the same thing, yet too often we mistake one for the other. Achievement is something you reach or attain, like a goal. It is something tangible, clearly defined and measurable. Success, in contrast, is a feeling or a state of being. “She feels successful. She is successful,” we say, using the verb to be to suggest the state of being. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
Money is never a cause, it is always a result. Simon Sinek : Start With Why
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