Book Byte #33 "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek
How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
📣 Curious Quotes from the Author:
“There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.”
“It’s worth repeating: people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.”
“Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them.”
“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe”
“Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. By WHY I mean your purpose, cause, or belief - WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?”
“We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe. Their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe, and not alone is part of what gives them the ability to inspire us.”
“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.”
“Happy employees ensure happy customers. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders—in that order.”
“Leading is not the same as being the leader. Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.”
“You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.”
“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.”
“Trust is maintained when values and beliefs are actively managed. If companies do not actively work to keep clarity, discipline, and consistency in balance, then trust starts to break down.”
“All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year.”
“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.”
“When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.”
“Leadership requires two things: a vision of the world that does not yet exist and the ability to communicate it.”
📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:
Simon Sinek is a prolific author, he has the top 3rd most viewed Ted Talk on the Internet. This Book is his magnum opus. Start with Why.
In the book he talks about good marketing, either for yourself or your product, and why you must start with why, because that’s what they buy, as displayed by this image
If you aren’t clear on why you do what you do, why should anyone buy into your personality or skills? A lot of the time as Technologists, we’re hired for our skills. We can make computers and systems hum with efficiency where Leaders would be cursing at their laptops because their email wouldn’t open.
Over my time as a Support class employee, I never really asked why I was doing this. I figured it was for a paycheck, and that I should just complete the tasks handed to me and solve the problems that needed to be solved. I never asked myself, “Do I believe in the vision of my company?” “Is there a greater reason why I’m trying to fix this server or configure this new computer deployment?”
After quitting my job almost 5 years ago, I was set on a path of that discovery. Why have I been a problem solver all my life? Why do I love video games and hate boredom so much? Who could I help that needed my help? I was being neglected in the corporate world, I needed help advancing my career, but everyone was too busy with their jobs to help me. It may have not been their fault though, they probably didn’t know how to help me, nor did I ever ask.
Corporations need to evolve, and this book is a champion of getting them to listen.
”Happy employees ensure happy customers. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders—in that order.”
So that became my why: I help make happy Tech Employees by:
Triggering their Curiosity with my Book Club
Teach them to be Cognizant of the Soft Skills needed to progress in their Career
Help them to better Collaborate with others to overcome loneliness and debilitating isolation
🛠️Fixing the Tech Industry
If Companies fully understood the power of this Book and implemented even 1 or 2 of its main concepts, we’d never want to leave that company ever again. It is profitable, shareholders would be so happy and our career progression would be extremely satisfying.
I’ve made it my mission to help Employees and Leaders achieve this transformation. If you want to change your company or your future industry, you must have the vision that they can change, and live every day of your life fighting for that change.
A wonderful side effect of that change is that while you’re fighting for it, even if your company doesn’t respond right away, you are enacting a change within yourself. You may even find that your company won’t ever change, and that will be ok. You’ll have outgrown your company and feel a desire either to start your own or just go freelance to help those like you who were also failed by their companies in their career progression.
Whatever you achieve, as long as you start with why, you will eventually become successful as you work for a better world than the one you are in now.
🤝 Collaborate with others with this Social Media Prompt:
What’s your why?
How will you manifest your why to the World?
What are you going to do next to live your why?
If you need help with any of those questions, feel free to email me: Jason[at]Club255.com