Simon O. Sinek (born October 9, 1973) is a British-American author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant. He is the author of four books, including Start With Why (2009).
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.
I don't consider myself an expert in the why. I don't consider myself an expert in leadership. I consider myself a student of leadership and I consider myself a student of the why. I'm constantly learning and I'm constantly looking for opportunities where it it will fail.
I'm investing in myself, I'm investing in others and I'm investing in my cause. I know if I persist it will pay back in dividends and it always does.
People will do as they are told by someone who outranks them, but they will only follow someone they believe in.
Rule books tell people what to do. Frameworks guide people how to act. Rule books insist on discipline. Frameworks allow for creativity.
If everything goes right, we get a good experience. If everything goes wrong, we get a good story.
I cannot tell you how long it takes for your exercise to work. If you haven't seen any results in a year or six months you're doing something wrong.
The mind can be convinced, but the heart must be won.
When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY, trust emerges.
There's only one of me. With you using the why in the center of your work helps me.
The concept of why is already in the vernacular. It is now a noun. "That company doesn't know their why. " "They need to learn their why. " "That politician needs to understand his why. " We talk about it as a noun. That never existed prior to 2009. That never existed prior to 2006 when I first started articulating it. This is the most amazing thing to me. It has now become a concept. It's part of the way we think about businesses and transactions and decisions.
Hire people inspired to achieve something big over people who demand something big before they feel inspired.
Like a good parent can't also be his child's best friend, a leader with authority requires some separation from subordinates.
Remember to connect with people now and then. In fact, pick up the phone, right now, and call a friend for no other reason than to say hi.
Selfish is easy. It's sharing that takes courage.
Before we can build the world we want to live in, we have to imagine it.
We can't all be good at everything. This is partly the logic behind having a team in the first place, so each role can be filled with the person best suited for that role and together, every job and every strength is covered.
Leadership is neither a rank nor a title. It is a choice. The choice to provide care and protection for those for whom we are responsible.
A true friend is someone with whom protocol is no longer necessary.
You [should] persist even though there are some short-term stresses and even though there is some uncertainty, because it's the right thing to do.