Start With Why by Simon Sinek

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

I listened to Start With Why on Audible and found it a fascinating if somewhat frustrating listen. The frustration was mainly around the examples used which became repetitive when for the third and what seemed like the fourth time Simon Sinek talks about the Wright brothers or Steve Jobs and Apple. That being said, the author did add value as he dug deeper into the history of groups and organisations in his quest to understand why some succeed.

His premise is fascinating, that we are all motivated by why, by purpose, by shared belief, and that people don't buy Apple because they believe what Apple sells, they buy Apple because they recognise that Apple believes the same as they do. Apple succeeds because its message is clear and so those people who already believe that message want to be associated with Apple as it shows to the world this is what they believe.

It is quite a revolutionary insight that for the past few weeks has had me examining my own decisions and seeing parallels. A DVD collection that says a lot about the type of person I am, or aspire to be, a red guitar that more than hints at my desire to be leading a crowd in a rock anthem, my choice of coffee over tea...

I've listened to the book twice now and am sure I'll return to it again, to absorb all I can. I highly recommend the book if you are interested in understanding how to connect with people, how to sell or market, how to draw people to a cause. The author did an excellent job reading the audible version and the only reason I've dropped the book a star was my frustration over the repetitions. Maybe I'm being too harsh, what do you think?