Start with Why, Simon Sinek

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  • Title: Start with Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action
  • Author: Simon Sinek
  • 
  • Started reading:: December 14th, 2020
  • Finished reading: December 20th, 2020
  • Reviewed:: December 21st, 2020

• Summary

  • This book is building a case about the importance of the Why in any enterprise, business or not business.
  • We have a tendency to explain our decisions, the products or services we love, business successes, etc. with Whats and Hows, but we forget that decisions are usually emotional, made in our Limbic System, which also governs our beliefs. Unfortunately, that same region doesn’t have any command of language, which is why many beliefs feel right, but we can’t really explain why with words.
  • Most successful companies succeeded in doing one thing: creating the Why of their existence. An idea that is so powerful, that is becomes contagious, and creates a strong follower-ship, employees and customers alike.
  • As companies grow and stay in business for a long time, their biggest challenge is to keep that Why alive, making sure that it is fully ingrained in the culture of the company, and can survive the departure of its founders.

• Takeaways

  • The author explains his concept of the Golden Circle, a circle made of three layers, with WHY at its core, HOW as the middle layer, and WHAT on the outside.
    • 
    • In a balanced Golden Circle, everything starts with a WHY, the vision or beliefs, and expands to the HOW, the mission, and finally to the WHAT, the behaviors to realize the WHY
  • The WHY of a company cannot be "to make money"; money is just a byproduct
    • The WHY needs to be a higher purpose, there must be a cause, a belief. A good approach to determine it is by asking oneself the following questions:
      • WHY does the company exist?
      • WHY do you get out of bed every morning?
      • WHY should anyone care?
  • The WHY exists in the part of the brain, the Limbic System, that controls feelings and decision-making, but not language
    • Which is reason why it is hard to clearly communicate the WHY
  • Targeting early-adopters is more effective than targeting early or late majority (Law of Diffusion)
    • But early-adopters buy into the WHY, not the WHAT of a product
    • They need something to believe in
  • Z: All great leaders are just a symbol of their beliefs, their cause
    • We don’t follow them, we follow their cause
    • Z: Charisma is a byproduct of clarity of WHY

      • Energy motivates but charisma inspires. Energy is easy to see, easy to measure and easy to copy. Charisma is hard to define, near impossible to measure and too elusive to copy

    • Z: A company should try to inspire its people, not motivate them

      • There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.

      • Great companies don't hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them

      • I love my job. I’m building a cathedral. Sure, I’ve been working on this wall for as long as I can remember, and yes, the work is sometimes monotonous. I work in the scorching hot sun all day. The stones are heavy and lifting them day after day can be backbreaking. I’m not even sure if this project will be completed in my lifetime. But I’m building a cathedral

    • Leadership has to be earned; ones become a leader only when others follow him

      • If an individual or organization hopes to assume the responsibility of leadership—a responsibility that is given, not taken—then they must think, act, and speak in a way that inspires people to follow.

  • While the WHY is what brings us together, trust is what makes things happen, as trust is a necessary catalyst of innovation and creativity

    • The goal of business should not be to do business with anyone who simply wants what you have. It should be to focus on the people who believe what you believe. When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY, trust emerges.

    • Trust is not a checklist. Fulfilling all your responsibilities does not create trust. Trust is a feeling, not a rational experience.

    • Trust begins to emerge when we have a sense that another person or organization is driven by things other than their own self-gain.

    • Z: The greatest responsibility of a leader is to create an environment where trust can emerge

      • The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen.

  • An organization is like a slice of the Golden Circle, with WHY at the top, HOW in the middle, and WHAT at the bottom
    • As an organization grows, the leader will be more and more distanced from the WHAT and the HOW, and will eventually be only interacting with the WHY
    • The slice has the shape of a megaphone, which is a great analogy
      • Without WHY, the message is just loud, not inspiring

      • But for a megaphone to work, clarity must come first. Without a clear message, what will you amplify?

• Highlights

  • Great leaders , in contrast , are able to inspire people to act . Those who are able to inspire give people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with any external incentive or benefit to be gained . (Location 6)
  • If companies don’t know why their customers are their customers , odds are good that they don’t know why their employees are their employees either . (Location 16)
  • There are only two ways to influence human behavior : you can manipulate it or you can inspire it . (Location 17)
  • “ Quitting smoking is the easiest thing I’ve ever done , ” said Mark Twain . “ I’ve done it hundreds of times . ” (Location 22)
  • I always joke that you can get someone to buy a gym membership with an aspirational message , but to get them to go three days a week requires a bit of inspiration . (Location 22)
  • There is a big difference between repeat business and loyalty . Repeat business is when people do business with you multiple times . Loyalty is when people are willing to turn down a better product or a better price to continue doing business with you . (Location 28)
  • WHY : Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do . 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 ? WHY does your company exist ? WHY do you get out of bed every morning ? And WHY should anyone care ? (Location 39)
  • It’s worth repeating : people don’t buy WHAT you do , they buy WHY you do it . (Location 41)
  • But when a company clearly communicates their WHY , what they believe , and we believe what they believe , then we will sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to include those products or brands in our lives . (Location 54)
  • The limbic brain is responsible for all of our feelings , such as trust and loyalty . It is also responsible for all human behavior and all our decision - making , but it has no capacity for language . (Location 56)
  • The part of the brain that controls our feelings has no capacity for language . It is this disconnection that makes putting our feelings into words so hard . (Location 56)
  • Great leaders are those who trust their gut . They are those who understand the art before the science . They win hearts before minds . They are the ones who start with WHY . (Location 60)
  • It’s nearly impossible to hold people accountable to nouns . (Location 66)
  • 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 . ” (Location 67)
  • The goal of business should not be to do business with anyone who simply wants what you have . It should be to focus on the people who believe what you believe . When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY , trust emerges . (Location 80)
  • Trust is not a checklist . Fulfilling all your responsibilities does not create trust . Trust is a feeling , not a rational experience . (Location 84)
  • Trust begins to emerge when we have a sense that another person or organization is driven by things other than their own self - gain . (Location 84)
  • “ Men wanted for Hazardous journey . Small wages , bitter cold , long months of complete darkness , constant danger , safe return doubtful . Honour and recognition in case of success . ” (Location 92)
  • Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them , they hire already motivated people and inspire them . (Location 94)
  • “ I love my job . I’m building a cathedral . Sure , I’ve been working on this wall for as long as I can remember , and yes , the work is sometimes monotonous . I work in the scorching hot sun all day . The stones are heavy and lifting them day after day can be backbreaking . I’m not even sure if this project will be completed in my lifetime . But I’m building a cathedral . ” (Location 95)
  • The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas . The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen . (Location 99)
  • You see , it’s confidence that makes fighter pilots so good at their jobs . (Location 107)
  • “ There’s nothing you can do that I can’t fix , ” (Location 110)
  • “ leave the organization in a better way than we found (Location 111)
  • why should anyone trust you ? (Location 112)
  • The feeling of trust is lodged squarely in the same place as the WHY — the limbic brain — and it’s often powerful enough to trump empirical research , or at least seed doubt . (Location 112)
  • Refusing to Consider the Law of Diffusion Will Cost You (Location 122)
  • If they had started their sales pitch with WHY the product existed in the first place , the product itself would have become the proof of the higher cause — proof of WHY . (Location 124)
  • Energy motivates but charisma inspires . Energy is easy to see , easy to measure and easy to copy . Charisma is hard to define , near impossible to measure and too elusive to copy . (Location 134)
  • The pessimists are usually right , to paraphrase Thomas Friedman , author of The World Is Flat , but it’s the optimists who change the world . (Location 140)
  • It’s no coincidence that the three - dimensional Golden Circle is a cone . It is , in practice , a megaphone . (Location 146)
  • But for a megaphone to work , clarity must come first . Without a clear message , what will you amplify ? (Location 147)
  • That symbol is no longer about Harley . The logo embodies an entire value set — their own . The symbol is no longer about Harley , it’s about them . (Location 162)
  • A WHY provides the clear filter for decision - making . Any decisions — hiring , partnerships , strategies and tactics — should all pass the Celery Test . (Location 168)
  • The moment at which the clarity of WHY starts to go fuzzy is the split . At this point organizations may be loud , but they are no longer clear . (Location 186)
  • To pass the School Bus Test , for an organization to continue to inspire and lead beyond the lifetime of its founder , the founder’s WHY must be extracted and integrated into the culture of the company . (Location 187)
  • It is not a coincidence that successful entrepreneurs long for the early days . It is no accident that big companies talk about a “ return to basics . ” What they are alluding to is a time before the split . (Location 189)
  • Like all visionary leaders , Bill Gates is special because he embodies what he believes . He is the personification of Microsoft’s WHY . And for that reason , he serves as a physical beacon , a reminder of WHY everyone comes to work . (Location 194)
  • Martin Luther King Jr . could not have changed America walking across a bridge in Selma , Alabama , with five prominent civil rights leaders . It took the thousands of people marching behind them to spur change . (Location 195)
  • It was at that point that Putnam felt he was the right man for the job . He loved that Kelleher was just like everyone else . He too had holes in his socks . (Location 201)
  • Henry Ford said , “ If you think you can or you think you can’t , you’re right . ” (Location 219)
  • Ben starts every race with a very clear sense of WHY he’s running . He’s not there to beat anyone but himself . Ben never loses sight of that . (Location 223)
  • an individual or organization hopes to assume the responsibility of leadership — a responsibility that is given , not taken — then they must think , act , and speak in a way that inspires people to follow . (Location 226)