Start With Why Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

Audio available

Video available

Read now Listen now Watch now Infographic

Brief Summary

"Start with Why" by Simon Sinek is a book about inspirational leadership. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and communicating the underlying purpose, or "why," behind actions. By starting with the "why," leaders can inspire loyalty and achieve long-term success. The book provides case studies and examples of companies that effectively communicated their purpose to build a strong following. It also stresses the need for authenticity and consistency in conveying the "why."

About the Author

Born in Wimbledon, London, Simon Sinek is a motivational speaker, author and organizational consultant. After working for the New York ad agencies Euro RSCG and Ogilvy & Mather, Sinek embarked on his own entrepreneurial endeavors and started his own company, Sinek Partners. In addition to Start with Why, Sinek also authored Leaders Eat Last, among other books. He has given talks for the United Nations and has presented at the TEDx conference.

Topics

Management & Leadership Marketing & Sales

Start With Why Book Summary Preview

Key Takeaways

The difference between leaders and those who lead is that leaders are a placeholder in positions of power. We follow those who lead because we choose to and not out of obligation. When we choose who we follow, we’ve done so because we’ve aligned our values with the ‘why’ of the leader: we’ve emotionally connected and formed our logic (the ‘what’) around our emotional connection. Those who lead, focus on the ‘Why’; leaders simply focus on ‘What’.

About the Author

Chapter-By-Chapter Breakdown

Chapter 1

Looking at the bigger picture helps us focus more on long-term gains.

An example of this is the American vs. Japanese auto manufacturer approach to assembly line production. American auto manufacturers apply final fixes to vehicle door components at the end of the assembly line. Japanese auto manufacturers design the doors to fit from the onset of production and don’t rely on last-minute fixes to make them work.

The two types of leaders are those who manipulate and those who inspire.

Chapter 2

Two ways to attract customers based on the carrot-and-stick model: either inspire the carrot or manipulate the stick.

True leadership means being able to inspire.

True leadership means instilling within others a sense of purpose.

Those who lead genuinely inspire their following and are fulfilled by the act of inspiring, in and of itself.

Behavior is influenced in two ways:

Manipulation
Inspiration

Examples of manipulation include sales, advertisements, promotions, and marketing.

Manipulation works because they employ fear (i.e. FOMO- Fear Of Missing Out), shame and guilt to coerce a person into making a specific decision.

Manipulations do not work in the long run; manipulation does not sustain for years because there is no sense of loyalty to the relationship behind the manipulation.

Chapter 3

The ‘How’, ‘What’ and ‘Why’ represent a 3-dimensional circle representing the core of a business’s model and operations.

The three tiers that distinguish the motivations behind an organization’s leadership decisions are:

What- What does the organization do?
How- How does the organization do it?
Why- Does the organization do it/ what is the motivation behind it?

All organizations know what they do. Some know how they do it. Few know why they do it.

“What is the company’s purpose and why should anyone care?” According to Sinek, organizations must first address the ‘Why’ in order to lead by inspiration.

An example of a company that starts with ‘Why’: Apple.

Apple stresses that they seek to challenge the status quo in everything that they do. This gains the customer’s emotional buy-in.

The ‘How’ for Apple is by developing aesthetically-pleasing, user-friendly technology devices.

The ‘What’ for Apple is that they sell great computers.

Companies that start with ‘What’ may generate some interest in the company’s products or services, but...