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

by Simon Sinek

Just about every person or organization needs to motivate others to act for some reason or another.

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.

This short-term response to long-term desires is alive and well in the corporate world also. A management consultant friend of mine was hired by a billion-dollar company to help it fulfill its goals and aspirations. The problem was, she explained, no matter the issue, the company’s managers were always drawn to the quicker, cheaper option over the better long-term solution. Just like the habitual dieter, “they never have the time or money to do it right the first time,” she said of her client, “but they always have the time and money to do it again.”

Peer pressure works not because the majority or the experts are always right, but because we fear that we may be wrong.

To quote my mother, “If your friends put their head in the oven, would you do that too?” Sadly, if Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods was paid to do just that, it might actually start a trend.

WHY: Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money—that’s a result. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?

It’s worth repeating: people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

Creative told us WHAT their product was and Apple told us WHY we needed it.

No matter where we go, we trust those with whom we are able to perceive common values or beliefs.

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.

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. When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY, trust emerges.

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.

is the invisible trust that gives a leader the following they need to get things done. And in Lori Robinson’s case, things get done.

Trust is maintained when the values and beliefs are actively managed.

clarity, discipline and consistency—then

we want to come to work to build a cathedral.

Dictators understand the importance of symbols all too well. But in their case, the symbols are usually of them and not of a larger belief.