via ted.com
Simon Sinek explains how great leaders inspire action.
What sets some people, some businesses, apart from others? All organizations function on 3 levels: What you do, How you do it, and Why you do it.
Entrepreneurs and leaders should watch this—two times—to understand the importance of Why, and to learn how to communicate your beliefs & your purpose in a way that will make your ideas radically successful.
Cody,
I swear by the gates of heaven, I have seen this talk at least 12+ times. It’s one of the most inspirational talks I have encountered in the last year. And really proves the point why some companies have a raving fan base while others totally miss out.
His line is echoing in the back of my mind: People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it…
Hey Cody,
That’s a really great talk. Thanks for sharing it.
Since I now that you are a fan of Anthony Robbins too, I just wanted to note that the “Start with the WHY” principle relates to part of what he teaches. He says the you should always start with the reason or THE WHY and it gives you the power and the fuel to go for what you want.
I actually have some criticism for Sinek.
What matters is not so much that “Why” comes first, but that a GOOD “Why” comes first.
We could move from Why to What and still be uninspiring:
Why -> To make money
How-> With technology
What -> We make airplanes
“Starting with Why” doesn’t help at all if you have a sucky Why. He claims that “to make money” doesn’t count as a “Why”, it’s only a “Result”. But really, it is a Why, it’s just an uninspiring Why. Maybe that’s nitpicking, I don’t know.
But I’m wondering about these examples, too. Perhaps Apple’s Why is “to make money”, and their How is “be innovative”, and their What is “make computers and stuff”. Sinek seems to measure success via sales. He says that other people made music players (for instance) and “nobody bought one”. But if that’s how we measure success, then how does Apple compare to Microsoft? Apple follows the Why pattern, according to Sinek, and presumably Microsoft doesn’t. And yet Microsoft sells more product and makes more money. (Alright so the Zune was trounced by the iPod, but Windows trounces Mac OS). Does this invalidate Sinek’s theory?
Sinek says that the limbic brain is responsible for all human decision-making. Gee, what does the rest of the brain do? I mean, sure, obviously the limbic brain is very important, but let’s not neglect the neocortex.
Yes, sometimes we have “gut feelings”, which we follow instead of rational analysis. But sometimes we ignore those feelings in favor of rational analysis. That’s how we get rid of irrational fears, for instance.
Tivo, by the way, is in fact making a profit.
In the end, I still agree that Why is important. You have to know what your true mission is, and “making money” is a pretty dumb mission. I just feel like Sinek is stretching his argument.