Start with Why

Author: Simon Sinek
Publisher: Gildan Media, LLC

• Audible.com Release Date: November 23, 2010
• Whispersync for Voice: Ready
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004DMWKUE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #2 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Business & Investing > Leadership & Management
    ISBN: B004DMWKUE
    Language: English
    Formats: Kindle,Hardcover,Paperback,Audible, Unabridged,Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged,Multimedia CD,
    Category: Books,Business & Money,Business Culture,Motivation & Self-Improvement, <i class="a-icon a-accordion-radio a-icon-radio-inactive"></i><h5><div class="a-row"><div class="a-column a-span8">Buy with 1-Click</div><div class="a-column a-span4 a-text-right a-span-last"><span class="a-size-base a-color-secondary a-text-normal">$20.95</span></div></div></h5>,
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their successes over and over? People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why. Their natural ability to start with why enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things. In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY. Any organization can explain what it does; some can explain how they do it; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not money or profit-those are always results. Why does your organization exist? Why does it do the things it does? Why do customers really buy from one company or another? Why are people loyal to some leaders, but not others? Starting with WHY works in big business and small business, in the nonprofit world and in politics. Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And people follow them not because they have to; they follow because they want to. Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire. This book is for anyone who wants to inspire others or who wants to find someone to inspire them.

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their successes over and over? People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why. Their natural ability to start with why enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things. In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY. Any organization can explain what it does; some can explain how they do it; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not money or profit-those are always results. Why does your organization exist? Why does it do the things it does? Why do customers really buy from one company or another? Why are people loyal to some leaders, but not others? Starting with WHY works in big business and small business, in the nonprofit world and in politics. Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And people follow them not because they have to; they follow because they want to. Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire. This book is for anyone who wants to inspire others or who wants to find someone to inspire them.

Start with Why

I really had to struggle with what rating to give this. Simon Sinek's idea is astoundingly insightful, very helpful, and definitely worth the price of this book let alone the Kindle price. I'm inclined to think that the world would be considerably better off if more people lived by Sinek's simple idea.

On the other hand, the book is agonizing in its redundancy, often repeating the same examples many times over to make precisely the same point as the first time the example was used. I'm inclined to think that virtually everything Sinek wrote could have been stated in a 20-page article without leaving out anything important. I daresay it might be possible to do it in five pages. That's part of the beauty of the idea: it's incredibly simple while still being astoundingly powerful. But Sinek doesn't seem to have bothered taking the time to distill the idea down into its essence for straightforward presentation in this book. It reads a little bit like he took articles from his blog, stuck them in a large word-processing document, did some minor editing, and submitted the thing as-is for publication in order to create this book.

So, the idea is worth the cost of the book and the time to read it, but the book itself is, in my humble opinion, very poorly organized and needlessly long.

I would advise those who are interested in Sinek's ideas save themselves a great deal of time and a little expense by first watching his TED Talk:

[...]

This covers virtually all the core ideas involved. The one thing Sinek never does either in this presentation or in his book is spell out what "HOW" is. It's a bit confusing in large part because it's different for each of the two communication structures.

A lot of people are searching for a clearer understanding of what "HOW" is (especially judging by the most highly rated review).

I was searching for it also. I found it over the course of much labor, across many other books and a large number of hours of additional research. HOW is only how you deliver your product when you start with WHAT - when you start with WHY, your HOW also changes. HOW becomes how you bring your WHY to life in your CULTURE, not products

So you start with WHY (your purpose). HOW do we deliver a purpose? HOW we deliver a WHY (purpose) is in HOW we behave - through Core Values. With purpose and aligned core values, the broad guidelines for every decision is in place. The validity of every system is obvious. The people to hire are clear. The reasons to fire are even more clear. And every person instantly knows the validity of every decision.

Think about it. Just like the golden circle concept, this fits. You cannot go backwards from WHAT (product) to HOW (core values). You will NEVER have an aligned WHY if you write the core values first. The consistency is immediately obvious. The golden circle must be in balance.

WHY is the purpose, and HOW are the Core Values around which we make every single decision, even in the absence of the visionary. It's HOW we make our WHY come to life every day. Our core values tell us who to hire, who to fire, and which decisions are right on a micro-level. Is that system or that process true to our core values?

Try to create core values. You cannot create genuine, honest core values without first knowing WHY you exist. When you know your WHY (such as apples challenging the status quo), you can then describe the values (in terms of behaviors) that exemplify that WHY.

Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" is a must read for any entrepreneur or leader struggling to create a long-term vision and guiding principles for their company or cause. The book can provide just the inspiration needed to get started in the right direction. You'll learn that the most important thing you can do as a leader is to figure out why your company or organization exists and why that should be meaningful to customers and others in society. Once the answer to this becomes clear and you believe it in your heart, the rest of the decisions about what to do and sell and how to do it become infinitely easier.

For those faced with competition, price-war and customer churn, Sinek's book can provide great insights for developing a new long-term strategy to combat these issues once-and-for-all. Sinek explains that while your product's features may be replicated and commoditized, no one can copy the kinship and confidence that your customers feel when doing business with you. This is because those feelings come from intangible values and beliefs that only you share with your customers.

How does one create such kinship with customers? The book explains the Golden Circle concept, which shows business leaders how to inspire instead of manipulating customers or employees to act. Sinek explains that trust is built naturally when you target customers that understand and believe in your WHY. So, if getting repeat and word-of-mouth business is important to you, then use inspiration, not manipulation to get the sale. Also, when business leaders properly articulate their company's WHY to employees, it makes it easier for the employees to believe in what they are selling. When sales reps sound authentic, it builds trust and loyalty with customers. It all starts with WHY.

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