Start With Why

Start With Why by Simon Sinek is a leadership book for just about anyone.  Sinek has a philosophy about inspiring others and how leaders should run their businesses.  The basic premise is to start with WHY.  Why are you selling this?  Why did you start a business?  Why do you do what you do?  In business there is the What, the How, and the Why.  Most companies and people know what they do/sell and how they do that but so many people don't get the why; they forget the purpose.  Sinek claims that knowing the WHY is the key to success.  You have to keep the WHY at the heart of everything you do.  It translates easily to the customer and they feel the reason you do something.  When your WHY is clear the success starts flowing.  

Some key ideas:

Trust is key to leadership.  A leader must provide his people with a practical or emotional net, like the net under a trapeze artist, so that the people feel supported.  Supported employees will put in the extra effort which benefits the group as a whole.  They put in the extra effort or take more risks because they know they have a safety net underneath them.

Charisma is another component to leadership.  Energy motivates people but charisma inspires.  The difference between energy and charisma is the WHY.  "It comes from the absolute conviction in an ideal bigger than oneself."  Energy will get people to do things in the short term. Bonuses, promotions, and contests get people to work harder in the short term but they do not create loyalty.  Knowing your WHY makes for a charismatic leader and employees/customers will naturally develop loyalty. 

The WHY is ultra important but the What and the How need to be consistent with the WHY.

When making decisions you should always go back to your WHY.  Does this make sense with my purpose? Not only should the leader know the WHY but the WHY should be clearly communicated to all employees so that everyone can make sound decisions.  If they filter decisions through the WHY then better decisions are made each and every day.

For far more details check out the book; I definitely recommend it.