"Start with WHY: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action"
A Summary of Simon Sinek's Book
“If an individual or organization hopes to assume the responsibility of leadership—a responsibility that is given, not taken—then they must think, act, and speak in a way that inspires people to follow.”
—Simon Sinek
Preface: “The Power of Why”
After falling out of love with his work, Simon Sinek discovered a “simple, powerful, and actionable idea” that he calls the “WHY.” Now an author and inspirational speaker, Sinek credits this concept with making his life more fulfilling. By sharing it, he hopes to help more people “wake up feeling fulfilled by the work they do.”
Introduction: “Why Start with Why?”
We often see examples of people and companies—such as the Wright brothers, Apple, and Martin Luther King Jr.—that outcompete those better equipped to succeed. Sinek attributes their success not to their goals, systems, or processes but to the fact that they “start with Why”—and, by doing so, “inspire people to act.” He believes if enough of us, individually and collectively, do the same, we can live in a world where the vast majority of us not only buy stuff and earn a living but also bring to life causes we believe in. He challenges us to start with Why.
Part I: “A World That Doesn’t Start With WHY”
Chapter 1: “Assume You Know”
Most leaders and companies assume their success—or lack thereof—stems from what can be seen, such as their products or promises. As a result, they underestimate the value of what can’t be seen, such as their intentions or processes, and fail to give it the attention it deserves. Instead of building a structurally sound operation guided by a clear purpose, they rely on short-term tactics to achieve short-term goals. In doing so, they jeopardize their long-term survival for the sake of immediate success.
Chapter 2: “Carrots and Sticks”
Our behavior can be influenced by inspiration or manipulation. Most leaders and companies rely on the latter to win our support or business—manipulating us through fear, peer pressure, novelty, rewards, reduced prices, and aspirational messages. Despite its negative connotation, manipulation is a valid tool for driving “any behavior that is only required once or on rare occasions.” For example, it makes sense to lower prices to clear shelves at the end of a retail season or to offer a reward for finding a missing pet. However, such short-term tactics are generally unsustainable, as they become more costly and stressful over time. They also fail to engender loyalty. Those of us whose support or business is impelled by manipulation won’t hesitate to take it elsewhere when the “carrots and sticks” (rewards and punishments) disappear.
Part II: “An Alternative Perspective”
Chapter 3: “The Golden Circle”
Sinek introduces the concept of “The Golden Circle,” which he depicts as three concentric circles. The outermost circle, labeled “WHAT,” represents the easily identifiable things that a person or organization does. The middle circle, labeled “HOW,” represents the processes that differentiate or improve what they do. The innermost circle, labeled “WHY,” represents their purpose, cause, or belief. Most leaders and companies think, act, and communicate from the outside in—starting with WHAT, then HOW, and finally WHY (if they even know what theirs is). But those that inspire us do the opposite: they start with WHY. They express their purpose, cause, or belief first, then point to their HOW and WHAT as rational and tangible proof of it. This inside-out approach gives them flexibility with their WHAT and attracts a loyal following that buys not only WHAT they do (which may be available elsewhere) but also WHY they do it.
Chapter 4: “This Is Not Opinion, This Is Biology”
Two parts of the human brain are the limbic system and the neocortex. They are said to be our heart (or emotional brain) and mind (or rational brain), respectively. Our heart drives our behavior, and our mind rationalizes it. Leaders and companies that start with WHAT present us with facts and figures that appeal to the rational brain but fail to elicit an emotional response. By contrast, those that start with WHY present us with beliefs and values that appeal to the emotional brain—making us feel compelled to support or do business with them before we have a reason to do so. The latter draw our attention and command our loyalty by winning our hearts before our minds.
Chapter 5: “Clarity, Discipline and Consistency”
To realize the value of The Golden Circle, its levels must be balanced and in the right order. First, we need to clarify our purpose, cause, or belief. Then, we must articulate and live by the values and principles that guide how we bring our cause to life. Finally, we need to consistently say and do what we believe. Only when we are clear about our WHY, disciplined in our HOW, and consistent with our WHAT can we, the people we serve, and those who serve us make decisions that are not only thought and felt to be right but also known to be right. And only then can the people who share our belief see a relationship with us as a way to signal what they believe.
Part III: “Leaders Need A Following”
Chapter 6: “The Emergence of Trust”
Leadership is as much about rallying people around a common cause as it is about managing operations. To lead, we must earn people’s trust by demonstrating our commitment to something bigger than ourselves—which we can do by being clear, disciplined, and consistent and by serving the people who serve us. Our success is made more likely when we recruit people who not only excel at what they do but also believe what we believe. When people feel they belong on our team, they are loyal, hardworking, and innovative—not because we demand it, but because they share our commitment to the cause.
Chapter 7: “How a Tipping Point Tips”
According to the “Law of Diffusion of Innovations,” the invention and adoption of a thing follows a pattern across five types of people. Innovators (2.5% of the market) dare to think differently and aggressively pursue something new, whether it’s an idea, a product, or something else. Early adopters (13.5% of the market) are quick to recognize the value of the new thing and will pay a premium or suffer an inconvenience for it. The early majority and late majority (each 34% of the market) are more or less skeptical about the utility or practicality of the new thing, such that they adopt it only after other people have tried and recommended it. And laggards (the remaining 16% of the market) reluctantly adopt the new thing once the old thing is rendered obsolete. The key to mass-market success lies in the ability of the early adopters to influence the majority. It’s these people—the ones who resonate with our WHY enough to adopt our WHAT before anyone else will—that we need to appeal to and empower.
Part IV: “How To Rally Those Who Believe”
Chapter 8: “Start with WHY, but Know HOW”
Behind every successful visionary is a practical-minded architect of sorts. In a movement or organization, the two are responsible for its vision and its mission, respectively. A vision statement clarifies WHY the movement or organization exists and the future it seeks to create. A mission statement defines HOW the movement or organization will realize that vision. Both statements must be clear and aligned for the visionary and the architect to fully trust and support each other.
Chapter 9: “Know WHY. Know HOW. Then WHAT?”
Sinek reimagines the Golden Circle as a three-tiered cone to illustrate its correspondence to the hierarchical structure of an organization: WHY is at the top, HOW is in the middle, and WHAT is at the bottom. He depicts the cone sitting atop the marketplace and explains that the people in an organization are responsible for the layer directly beneath their own. The leader’s focus, for example, should not be on the outside market but on the individuals who “develop the systems and hire the people who are ultimately responsible for bringing the WHY to life.” Sinek argues that when an organization functions properly, its leader’s vision flows down the cone—from WHY to HOW to WHAT—and enters the marketplace as aligned marketing, advertising, products, or services. In other words, everything an organization says and does should communicate what its leadership believes.
Chapter 10: “Communication Is Not About Speaking, It’s About Listening”
Many people proudly wear branded clothing—and some even tattoo corporate logos on their skin. In either case, they typically do so not to promote the company but to express their own values, beliefs, or support for a cause that the organization—through its clarity, discipline, and consistency—has become a symbol of. The fact that a company’s logo has come to represent something bigger than the organization itself is a message to that company to continue acting in alignment with its purpose, cause, or belief. It would be wise to always filter its decisions through its WHY, as that will ensure that its HOW and WHAT remain reflective of its vision. Failing to do so could lead to choices that undermine its integrity and ability to inspire loyalty.
Part V: “The Biggest Challenge Is Success”
Chapter 11: “When WHY Goes Fuzzy”
Wal-Mart, the well-known discount store, was founded with a clear purpose: to serve people. Offering low prices was just one way it achieved that. However, after the death of its founder, the company began to confuse its WHY with its HOW. It started prioritizing low prices over serving people and has been plagued by scandals ever since. Like Wal-Mart, many people and organizations become so focused on their WHAT and skilled in their HOW that they forget their WHY and the role it played in their success. As a result, they start chasing goals that may not align with their original vision and mission. Some even begin to run backward, so to speak, and wonder why they no longer feel successful when they reach milestones.
Chapter 12: “Split Happens”
In the beginning, the WHAT and WHY of a movement or organization are closely aligned, as the majority of its decisions are made by the people who are most familiar with and inspired by its purpose, cause, or belief—namely, its founder and earliest members. However, as the movement or organization grows, more of its decisions are made by people who are responsible for WHAT it does and who may not know or care much about WHY it does it. Add to that the inevitable departure of its founder—the visionary at the helm—and the loss of its clarity of WHY is to be expected. For a movement or organization to continue to inspire and lead as it grows and outlives its founder’s involvement, its purpose, cause, or belief must be integrated into its culture.
Part VI: “Discover WHY”
Chapter 13: “The Origins of a WHY”
An arrow is only powerful when it has momentum, which it gains by being pulled in the direction opposite to its target. According to Sinek, the same is true of every WHY, which “comes from the past” and is “born out of the upbringing and life experience of an individual or small group.” This means that gaining clarity of WHY is a process of discovery—not invention. Sinek believes every person and organization has a WHY. His is “to inspire people to do the things that inspire them.”
Chapter 14: “The New Competition”
Leaders and companies that lack a sense of purpose compete against others. They strive to be better at saying and doing what others already do. Their WHAT is just another collection of products or promises and offers no insight into what they hope to achieve apart from growing their base or bottom line. By contrast, leaders and companies that champion a higher cause compete against themselves. They strive to be ever better at bringing their WHY to life. Their WHAT represents their efforts to build their imagined future—and it is those efforts that inspire those of us who share their vision to offer not only our support or business but also our loyalty.
Afterword: “Be a Part of This Movement, Share Your Vision of the World”
Those of us who wish to lead rather than merely manage must cultivate a following—a body of supporters who volunteer to go where we’re going for no other reason than that they want to. This requires us to have “a vision of the world that does not exist” and “the ability to communicate it.” By grounding our leadership in a clear and meaningful WHY, we can rally people to our cause. Sinek encourages each of us to share our vision of the world so that other people can see what we see, believe in the possibility of what could be, and feel inspired to take part in bringing it to life.