Start With Why
Simon Sinek
Preface: The Power of Why
what do we do when we find something of value, we share it with the people we love
Part 1: A World That Doesn’t Start With Why
Chapter 1: Assume you know
when faced with a result that doesn’t go according to plan, a series of perfectly effective short term attics are used until desired outcomes is achieved, but how structurally sound are those solutions
Chapter 2: Carrots and Sticks
with a business do you know why your customers are your customers? Or do you know why your employees are your employees?
there are only 2 ways to influence human behaviour: manipulate or inspire
price drops work but now customers now use to paying lower than average price
promotions are such common manipulation that we often forget that we’re being manipulated in the first place
fear is arguably the most powerful manipulation, perceived or real
we use fear to raise our children, to motivate people, to obey code of ethics, used in public service ads
if fear motivates us to move away from something horrible, aspirational messages tempt us towards something desirable
positive in nature, aspirational messages are most effective with those who lack discipline or have a nagging fear of insecurity that they don’t have the ability to achieve their dreams on their own (at various times for various reason is everyone) — can jump start behaviour but won’t last
they never have the time or money to do it right the first time, but they always have the time and money to do it again
peer pressure creates fear that we may be wrong as the majority or experts are deciding on that product - makes you feel that you are missing out
novelty vs innovation: real innovation changes the course of industries or even society whereas novelty just a new thing for people to get excited about
the price you pay for the money you make: difference between repeat business and loyalty - repeat business is when people do business with each other multiple times, loyalty are people willing to turn down a better product or better price to continue doing business
danger of manipulations is that they work and then it becomes the norm and practiced
Part 2: An Alternative Perspective
Chapter 3: The Golden Circle
remind ourselves to start everything we do by asking why
outside of circle to inside:
— WHAT; what they do, describes the products or services a company sells or job function
— HOW; some companies know how they do what they do. Often given to explain for something is different or better
— WHY; why they do what they do — to make money is a result not a why. What is the purpose, cause and beliefcommunication is organized to convince someone of a difference or superior value — but that is not what the inspiring leaders and organizations do
people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it
WHAT companies do are external factors, but WHY they do it is something deeper
— Ex. Apple started inside out where they stuck with their why. iPod did so well as they advertised ‘1,000 songs in your pocket’ compared to other companies advertised ‘5GB mp3 player’ that’s the whatbetter or best is a relative comparison. Without understanding why, the comparison is of no value to decision maker
— Ex. Honda minivan vs Ferrari - if you have a family of 6 the minivan ‘better’ - if looking for flashy and speed Ferrari ‘better’once you share similar why’s then you believe it - but it’s not a debate about better or worst, it’s the needs
ask yourself ‘Why did we start doing what we’re doing in the first place’ and ‘what can we do to bring our cause to life considering all opportunities today
Chapter 4: This Is Not Opinion, This Biology
very basic human need is ‘the need to belong’ — feeling we get when those around us share our values and beliefs
we then trust those with whom we are able to perceive common values and beliefs
we are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe
gut decisions don’t happen in your stomach: neocortex responsible for rational analytical thought and language
limbic brain: responsible for feelings and human behaviour decision making but no capacity for language
there is a disconnection with putting our feelings into words
winning hearts and minds: heart represents lambic feeling part of brain, mind is the rational language centre — the why must come first
power of the limbic system is astounding, it can influence us to do things that seem illogical.
— Ex. Leaving home to explore faraway places, crossing oceans to see the other side, leaving your job to start a business
it is not logic or facts but our hopes and dreams, our hearts, and our guts, that drive us to try new things
Chapter 5: Clarity, Discipline, and Consistency
to inspire starts with the clarity of why — why do you do what you do?
everything you say and do has to prove what you believe; a why is just a belief, how’s are the actions you take to realize that belief, the what’s are the results if those actions
authenticity is that your golden circle is in balance, everything you say and do you believe in
there are many ways to motivate people to do things, but loyalty comes from ability to inspire people
‘WHATs’ don’t drive decision making, WHATs should be proof of WHY
many companies work so hard to prove their value without saying WHY they exist in the first place, you’ll have to do more than show your resume before someone finds you appealing
but that’s exactly what companies do - WHAT they’ve done and whom they know
inspire people to do the things that inspires them
difference between ‘I think this is the right decision’ vs ‘the decision feels right’
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
Part 3: Leaders Need a Following
Chapter 6: The Emergence of 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 self gain
value, is the transference of trust. You can’t convince someone you have value, just as you can’t convince someone to trust you
talk about WHY, prove it with WHAT
WHY is just a belief, HOW are the actions we take to realize that belief, WHAT are the results of those actions
no one likes to lose, most healthy people live their life to win, only variation is the score we use. Money, fame, power, love, family, spiritual fulfillment
‘you don’t hire for skill, you hire for attitude’ how can attitude fit the culture
the goal is to hire those who are passionate for your WHY, your purpose, cause or belief, and who have the attitude that fits your culture. Once that’s established then skill set and experience can be evaluated
great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them
average companies give their people something to work on. Most innovative organizations give their people something to work towards
role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas, the role is to create an environment where great ideas can happen
when people come to work with a higher sense of purpose, they find it easier to weather hard times or even to find opportunity in those times
we trust familiarity over experience
if there were no trust then no one would take risks. No risks would mean no exploration, no experimentation and no advancement of society as a whole
a great leaders understand that earning trust of an organization doesn’t come from setting out to impress everyone, it comes from setting out to serve those who serve her
passion comes from feeling like you are a part of something that you believe in, something bigger than yourself — the opinions of those we trust matters
Chapter 7: How a Tipping Point Tips
our population is broken into five segments that fall across a bell curve: innovators (2.5%), early adopters (13.5%), early majority (34%), late majority (34%), laggards (16%)
innovators pursue new products or idea aggressively and are intrigued by any fundamental advancements
early adopters are similar to innovators as they are early to recognize the potential but willing to take the risk.
— Ex. Waiting in line for hours for latest iPhone when you can wait a week with no lineearly majority and late are more practical minded, rational factors matter more
as you move more to the right of the spectrum everything usually comes down to price, and rarely any loyalty
according to the Law of Diffusion, mass market success can only be achieved after you penetrate between 15 and 18% of the market
early majority won’t try something new until someone else has tried it first
when you start with WHY, those who believe what you believe are drawn to you for very personal reasons. It those who share your values and beliefs, not necessarily the quality of the product
give the people something to believe in: Martin Luther king speech, how did they get a quarter million people to show up? The details of HOW to achieve civil rights or WHAT needed to be done were debatable, and different groups tried different strategies — all had one thing in common though, their WHY.
how many people showed up for Dr. King, zero, they showed up for themselves as it what what they believed
it was what he believed, not how they are going to do it, “I have a dream” not “I have a plan”
at the end of the day, he gave us clarity, he gave us words that inspired us, something to believe in
Part 4: How to Rally Those Who Believe
Chapter 8: Start With WHY, But Know HOW
energy motivates but charisma inspires
with charisma there is a underlying belief in a purpose or cause bigger than themselves - comes from a clarity of WHY
regardless of WHAT we do in our lives, our WHY - our driving purpose, cause or belief - never changes. If our golden circle is in balance, WHAT we do is simply the tangible way we find to breathe life into that cause
no matter how inspiring a dream may be, a dream cannot come to life stays a dream
those who know WHY need those who know HOW
the why types are visionaries, the ones with an overactive imagination
the how type live more in the here and now and they are realists
vision statement vs a mission statement
— the vision statement is the public statement of the founders intent, WHY the company exist
— the mission statement is a description of the route, the guiding principles — HOW the company intends to create that futurefor a message to have real impact, to affect behaviour and seed loyalty, it needs more than publicity. It needs to publicize some higher purpose, cause or belief to which those with similar values and beliefs can relate
a clear sense of WHY sets expectations, when we don’t know an organization’s WHY, we don’t know what to expect so we expect the minimum on price, quality, service, features
Chapter 9: Know Why. Know How. Then What
with the golden circle (WHY — HOW — WHAT) the marketplace is made up of customers, press, shareholders, competition, suppliers etc = chaotic and disorganized. Only contact that the organized system has is the WHAT level
CEO needs to be the leader and focus on the layer of HOW, ensure people on team believe what they believe and know HOW to build it
the WHY exists in the part of the brain that controls feelings and decision making but not language. WHATs exists in part of brain that controls rational thought and language
Chapter 10: Communication is Not About Speaking, It’s About Listening
the only reason symbols have meaning is because we infuse them with meaning
a symbol cannot gave any deep meaning until we know WHY it exists in terms bigger than simply to identify the company
symbols needs to stand for something we believe in — that takes clarity, discipline, and consistency
the celery test: in order to improve HOW and WHAT we do, we constantly look to what others are doing. We are in pursuit of best practices to help guide us.
it is not just WHAT and HOW you do things that matters, what matters more is that WHAT and HOW you do things are consistent with your WHY
— Ex. Celery test: you’re at a dinner party and someone comes to you and say you need M&Ms, another says you need rice milk research shows, another says Oreos, and lastly someone says celerywhen you go to the supermarket and have all items you spent time, money, energy but yet still don’t know what you believe
but if you knew your WHY before such as being healthy then only the rice milk and celery would be the one — others can see that too which came from communicating your WHY through WHAT you do
Part 5: The Biggest Challenge is Success
Chapter 11: When Why Goes Fuzzy
success and achievement are not the same thing
achievement is something you reach or attain like a goal, something tangible, clearly defined and measurable
success is a feeling or state of being
achievement comes when you pursue and attain WHAT you want. Success comes when you are clear in pursuit of WHY you want
success comes when we wake up everyday in that never-ending pursuit of WHY we do WHAT we do
our achievements, WHAT we do, serve as milestones to indicate we are on the right path
in pursuit of success, can mistaken WHAT they achieve as their final destination, reason they never feel satisfied
Chapter 12: Split Happens
nearly all companies start the same way: with an idea
at the beginning ideas are fueled with passion that causes us to do quite irrational things — to make sacrifices so that a cause bigger than themselves can be brought to life
for passion to survive, it needs structure but for structure to grow, it needs passion
the school bus test: if the leader was to get hit by a school bus, will the organization still thrive — ways to keep the founding vision alive
just because somebody makes a lot of money does not mean he/she provides a lot of value, vice versa where someone that makes a little money does not necessarily mean she/he provides a little value
value is feeling, not a calculation. It is perception
when people can point to a company and clearly articulate what the company believes and uses words unrelated to price, quality, service and features, that’s proof that the company successfully navigated the split of WHY and WHAT — use words such as love
when the person who personifies the WHY departs without clearly articulating WHY the company was founded in the first place, they leave but clear cause for their successor to lead
physically embody the cause of the company — they inspire
success is the greatest challenge
help people wake up everyday to overcome obstacles so they can achieve their potential — to believe
don’t have to be the smartest just lead the cause and remind everyone WHY they are there
money is never a cause, it is always a result
Part 6: Discover WHY
Chapter 13: The Origins of a WHY
the story of Apple where the WHY was horned in the company — to be innovated and challenge the industry
law of diffusion says that only 2.5% of population has a innovator mentality — group of people willing to trust their intuition and take greater risks than others
finding WHY is a process of discovery, not invention
learning and understanding the WHY of any social movement always starts with one thing: you
“if you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right”
to inspire people to do the things that inspired them, so that, together, we can change the world
Chapter 14: The New Competition
when you compete against everyone else, no one wants to helps you — but when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you
to simply be better than what we use to be
why should I do business with you? Because the work we’re doing now is better than the work is better than the work we were doing six months ago. Abs the work we’ll be doing six months from now will be better than the work we’re doing today
if we take some responsibility to start with WHY and inspire others to do the same, then, together we can change the world
Afterword: Be Part of This Movement, Share Your Vision of The World
leadership: is decidedly more human, requires followers
a follower is a person that volunteers to go where the leader goes, they choose to
leadership is always about people
all leaders must have 2 things: they must have a vision of the world that not yet exist and they must have the ability to communicate it
where does vision comes from? That’s the power of WHY, we imagine the tangible results of what the world would look like if we spent everyday in pursuit of our WHY
leaders inspires actions