This is one of my all time favourite books.

Possibly because what Simon Sinek writes about in Start With Why is applicable to most things in life, business and everything in-between.

Starting with Why

What do Simon Sinek and Six year old kids have in common? They like to ask "why".

Something that we sometimes forget, being too busy focussing on the the how and what of the things we do.

Simon highlights the importance of being clear in our understanding of why we do things, with many examples of what happens if we forget our why.

The Golden Circle

The why as Simon describes it, sits at the middle of the golden circle. It infers the how something is done, which in turn infers the what which is done. Without being clear of the why, often the how and what are presumptuous or misguided.

The Why in Business

He cites many examples of successful businesses (Apple, Harley Davidson) that because they are clear in their why, their customers (and staff) understand and buy into their why resulting in trust and loyalty. He warns of the repercussions of forgetting your why, again with examples of businesses whose success tumbles when a founding member who was instrumental in developing and advocating the why dies or leaves. The why was not included in the leadership succession.

"Customers don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it"

- A favourite saying of Simons.

The Biology of Why

Simon explains that the why can often be difficult to describe, sometimes existing as a gut feeling. He puts this down to the why residing in the limbic system of our brain that governs feeling, emotion and instinct, whereas the what and how residing in the much more logical neocortex part of the brain.

The Why of Leadership

Simon attributes some of the the success of people from history to their clear why.

He remarks Martin Luther King Junior was clear on his why when he gave his famous "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, inspiring a whole movement, remarking that he didn't say "I have a plan", he was sharing his vision, his beliefs, his why, not a detailed plan of how or what - that would not have inspired.

Summary

I think Start with Why should be on everybody's reading list and bookshelf and as such has earned a very high place in my all time favourite book list.

If you like books like this, then head on over to GoodBusinessBooks.com that is chock full of similar books.

-- Lee