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

by Simon Sinek

Great leaders, in contrast, are able to inspire people to act. Those who are able to inspire give people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with any external incentive or benefit to be gained.

If the leader of the organization can’t clearly articulate WHY the organization exists in terms beyond its products or services, then how does he expect the employees to know WHY to come to work?

When WHY, HOW, and WHAT are in balance, authenticity is achieved and the buyer feels fulfilled.

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.

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. It is the people inside the company, those on the front

Many companies

have star employees and star salesmen and so on, but few have a culture that produces great people as a rule and not an exception.

For those within a community, or an organization, they must trust that their leaders provide a net—practical or emotional. With that feeling of support, those in the organization are more likely to put in extra effort that ultimately benefits the group as a whole. I will admit that there are always those who will take the risk, for the first time or repeatedly, without the net. There will always be those who will explore regardless of who is home holding down the fort. These people sometimes earn their rightful spots as the innovators. The ones who pushed further, the ones who did things no one else would do. Some of them may advance a business or even

Great organizations become great because the people inside the organization feel protected. The strong sense of culture creates a sense of belonging and acts like a net. People come to work knowing that their bosses, colleagues and the organization as a whole will look out for them. This results in reciprocal behavior. Individual decisions, efforts and behaviors that support, benefit and protect the long-term interest of the organization as a whole.

Passion may need structure to survive, but for structure to grow, it needs passion.

If those outside the megaphone share your WHY and if you are able to clearly communicate that belief in everything you say and do, trust emerges and value is perceived.

Her job was to lead the cause. To personify the values and remind everyone WHY they are there.

The WHY does not come from looking ahead at what you want to achieve and figuring out an appropriate strategy to get there.