Start With Why

Simon Sinek

📚 GENRE: Business & Finance

📃 PAGES: 256

✅ COMPLETED: November 18, 2022

🧐 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Short Summary

In business and in life, it’s important to define your larger purpose before doing anything else. In Start With Why, Simon Sinek explains why the most influential leaders and organizations all think, act, and communicate the same way, and they all start with ‘why.’ Sinek introduces his concept of The Golden Circle and uses successful companies like Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Costco as case studies.

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Start With ‘Why’ — Both individuals and organizations need to pinpoint why they exist before doing anything else. A person or company’s ‘why’ provides both direction and purpose. Once a ‘why’ is established, everything the company does — whether it’s marketing, advertising, website design, hiring, establishing culture, setting processes, or anything else — is done with its larger purpose in mind. Everything starts from the inside out; everything starts with ‘why.’ Making money is ultimately a byproduct of successfully fulfilling a larger purpose. 

2️⃣ Make It Clear — People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. When deciding a ‘why’ behind the business, it’s important to make it as clear as possible. When the ‘why’ or purpose is clear, everybody in the organization is on the same page and striving for the same thing. Without a well-defined ‘why’, miscommunication can happen and poor processes can develop. A clear purpose also helps attract like-minded employees and customers. 

3️⃣ Never Forget It — For both individuals and companies, it’s critical to never forget the ‘why’ behind your existence. Particularly after experiencing some success, it can be easy to forget your larger purpose. For companies, the focus generally shifts away from purpose in favor of product development. Throughout history, the leaders and companies who have constantly thought about and talked about their ‘why’ have been able to inspire and galvanize the most people. 

Favorite Quote

“People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.”

Book Notes 📑

Introduction

  • Leaders vs. ‘Those Who Lead’ — There are leaders (those simply in leadership positions) and ‘those who lead’ (leaders who are able to influence and get the most out of people). Great leaders — whether in sports, business, music, or any other field — have the ability to motivate people and inspire them to achieve big things. The majority of great leaders, past and present, have a strong ‘why’ behind their mission.
    • Quote: “Great leaders are able to inspire people to act. Those who are able to inspire give people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with external incentive or benefit to be gained.”
    • Quote: “For those who are inspired, the motivation to act is deeply personal. They are less likely to be swayed by incentives. Those who are inspired are willing to pay a premium or endure inconvenience, even personal suffering.”
    • Quote: “Those who are able to inspire will create a following of people, supporters, voters, customers, workers who act for the good of the whole, not because they have to but because they want to.”
  • Interesting Fact — In the early 1900s, Samuel Pierpont Langley set out to become the first man to pilot an airplane. He was highly educated, backed by a team of experts, and received government funding. While he was working on his plane design, so were the Wright Brothers — Wilbur and Orville Wright. The Wright Brothers never graduated from college and neither did anybody on their team. They didn’t have any funding. But in a bicycle shop in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, the brothers put together a plane. And on December 17, 1903 in North Carolina, Orville became the first man to take flight. The flight was 59 seconds long. 
  • Leadership Traits — All inspiring leaders and companies think, act, and communicate in a similar fashion. There are commonalities between the most successful leaders in the world that can be replicated. A few of the people and companies who have been highly successful in leading and inspiring people include:
    • Apple
    • Southwest Airlines
    • Ronald Reagan
    • John F. Kennedy 
    • Martin Luther King, Jr.

Ch. 1: Assume You Know

  • Interesting Fact — People around the world used to think the earth was flat. This assumption influenced behavior — many were scared to travel too far in fear that they might fall right off the edge of the earth. 
  • Foundational Leadership — Many companies lack a well-defined purpose, and this can lead to problems. When the company and its leadership team are not aligned at the foundational level and don’t have well-designed processes, it creates a situation where people throughout the organization are not on the same page and are constantly scrambling to get things done. A company that is unified on all fronts and has strong processes in place gets more out of people and functions better.
    • Quote: “The ones (companies) that achieve more, however; the ones that get more out of fewer people and fewer resources; the ones with an outsized amount of influence build the products and companies, and even recruit people, all based on the original intention.”
  • Car Metaphor — To illustrate the idea of foundational leadership, there’s a story about a handful of American car executives going to a Japanese plant to observe how they built cars. In America, one of the final steps at most plants is to use a rubber mallet to force the car door to fit into the frame. In Japan, they don’t have this step because they designed the car door to fit perfectly from the start.
    • Takeaway — Getting things right at the start should always be the goal. An organization cannot function efficiently if its people are constantly scrambling. As a leader, you have to set the right standards at the start. It’s critical to have outstanding processes in place that people can follow and repeat over and over. 

Ch. 2: Carrots and Sticks

  • Manipulation vs. Inspiration — There are only two ways to influence human behavior: manipulation or inspiration. When a company has defined its ‘why’ or its purpose, it can inspire customers and employees, which will generate loyalty and additional effort. Manipulations, like price reductions, are not sustainable. You have to know your ‘why’ as a company or individual.
    • Quote: “When companies or organizations do not have a clear sense for why their customers are their customers, they tend to rely on a disproportionate number of manipulations to get what they need.”
  • Common Manipulations — Price reductions, promotional opportunities, and fear are a few of the common manipulations companies turn to in order to acquire or influence customers and employees. Although these might work in the short-term, they are not effective tactics in the long run.
    • Price Reductions — Lowering prices might be a good idea to unload inventory at the end of the year, but it’s generally a terrible strategy. When a company lowers its prices, it becomes almost impossible to raise prices again in the future. Lowering prices has a direct negative impact on revenue, gross margin, and net income. A company should never compete by lowering prices. 
    • Promotions — Similar to lowering prices, promotional offers are not a sustainable way of doing business. These can be effective to get exposure for a product and get the product in customers’ hands, but it’s not an ideal strategy. 
    • Fear — Maybe the most powerful manipulation in the world. When employees fear the consequences of taking risks and doing things differently, it creates an environment where innovation is frowned upon and growth is impossible. A culture of fear and micromanagement is maybe the most disastrous feature any company, team, or organization can ever have. 
  • Interesting Fact — Colgate has over 30 different kinds of toothpaste to choose from. Because competitors have created more types of toothpaste to keep up, the number of different kinds of toothpaste available to customers is staggering. 😲
  • Customer Loyalty — Manipulations are a great way to drive sales in the here and now, but they do not generate customer loyalty, which is one of the keys to long-term success for any company. The relationship with your customers cannot simply be transactional; there has to be a deeper connection. Developing your ‘why’ and purpose helps you make that connection with customers and employees.
    • Takeaway — This is where storytelling is so important in marketing. Every marketing department should be focused on telling the company’s story, and the center of the story should be the company’s purpose or ‘why.’ Why does the company exist? What is its purpose beyond business? How is the organization making a difference in the world? These are key questions. 

Ch. 3: The Golden Circle

  • The Golden Circle — The leaders and companies that have been successful in motivating people, inspiring people, and building loyal followers all follow a similar pattern. The Golden Circle is an alternative to short-term manipulations that many companies use; it’s a formula that can be used to identify your ‘why.’
    • Quote: “The Golden Circle provides compelling evidence of how much more we can achieve if we remind ourselves to start everything we do by first asking ‘why.’”
    • Quote: “It (The Golden Circle) can be used as a guide to vastly improving leadership, corporate culture, hiring, product development, sales, and marketing… it all starts with ‘why.’”
    • Quote: “People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.”
  • Components of The Golden Circle — The Golden Circle looks like a bullseye and is comprised of three different layers: Why, How, and What. Each layer is important, but everything starts with ‘why.’ Most companies have it backwards — they start with ‘what’ and never identify their ‘why.’ The Golden Circle can be applied to companies as well as individuals. 
    • What — What does the company do? What sort of products or service are offered? This layer addresses that component of the business. ‘What’ the company does should always contribute to executing the ‘why.’
    • How — How does the company go about creating its products or services? How is the company different than its competitors? What is its unique selling proposition (USP)? This layer addresses the ‘how’ of the company. 
    • Why — Few people and companies can identify their ‘why.’ Why does your company exist outside of business? What is its purpose? How is the company trying to make a difference in the world? This is not about money — money is a byproduct of fulfilling the company’s purpose. 
  • Apple 🍎 — One of the companies that does a great job of starting from the inside out is Apple. Apple’s products and services are a result of the company following its purpose, not the other way around. This is the key. A company should never create products or services for the sake of creating them — they should create products and services that execute their purpose. In most of its marketing materials, Apple touches on the ‘why’ driving the business. A good example of an Apple marketing message is below, followed by a fake one following the method most companies use:
    • Good — Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. We just happen to make good computers. Want to buy one? 
    • Bad — We make great computers. They are beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. Want to buy one?
    • Quote: “Apple’s ‘why’ — to challenge the status quo and to empower the individual — is a pattern that is repeated in all they say and all they do.”
  • Apple & Music — Prior to Apple’s rise, customers had to buy albums, and their music listening experience was restricted to how many CDs or cassettes they could carry and insert into their device (i.e. Walkman). Apple changed all of that with the introduction of the iPod. The company’s messaging revolved around collecting songs instead of collecting albums, which changed the industry music forever. One of its most famous messages was: “Put 1,000 songs in your pocket.” Apple used that type of messaging rather than explaining that the iPod had “5GB of storage.” The introduction of iTunes also changed how music was packaged and distributed.
    • Lack of Purpose — If those in the music industry had a better sense of ‘why,’ somebody might have come up with many of the ideas that Apple had. If companies in the music industry had the purpose of creating the best music listening experience possible, things may have worked out differently. Instead, Apple put many companies out of business by revolutionizing how music was experienced, packaged, and distributed.
      • Takeaway — A company can’t get complacent. There needs to be a well-defined ‘why’ and purpose driving the business, and the leaders of the company have to keep it in mind every day. Apple, a computer company, completely changed the music industry with its ideas and desire to empower individuals. We saw something similar take place with Netflix and Blockbuster. Netflix redefined how television and movies were experienced, and Blockbuster (once a huge company) ended up paying the price. Blockbuster had every opportunity to create a similar experience before Netflix came along, but the company lacked a strong purpose. 
  • Commodities — Without a ‘why’ behind your business, you’re forced to compete purely on price and quality, like a commodity. The quality of products and services you offer is absolutely important, BUT there also needs to be a deeper meaning behind the business.
    • Quote: “Good quality and features matter, but they are not enough to produce the dogged loyalty that all of the most inspiring leaders and companies are able to command.”

Ch. 4: This Is Not Opinion, This Is Biology

  • Sense of Belonging — Everybody in the world has an insatiable need for belonging, and we tend to gravitate towards the groups that we share things in common with, including values, beliefs, habits, and more. When companies are clear about their purpose and ‘why,’ it allows them to easily connect with like-minded customers, employees, and job candidates who share the same belief systems. We align with those we are similar to. 
    • ESG Investing — This need for belonging is partly why ESG investing has become such a factor in the last decade or so. More and more people are looking to invest in companies who share their values and beliefs, even if those companies don’t produce the same type of stock market returns as others. Investors who are looking to make an impact in the world look for companies who are also making an impact. 
  • The Brain & Decisions — There are three key areas of the brain, and the three layers of The Golden Circle connect with two of them. Ultimately, the limbic brain primarily drives most of our decisions and the neocortex rationalizes those decisions with words.
    • Rational Brain (The Mind) — The rational brain, or neocortex, connects with the ‘what’ layer of The Golden Circle. It understands language and is great at comparing features of a product, such as storage space, size, colors, price, power, etc. It does not control emotion. When the company doesn’t have a well-defined ‘why,’ the rational brain takes over and it becomes a matter of choosing which product has better features and price. 
    • Limbic Brain (The Heart) — The limbic brain connects with the ‘how’ and ‘why’ layers of The Golden Circle. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for emotion, feeling, behavior, and decisions. It is what you feel in your heart. It is what allows us to feel like we belong. The limbic brain does not understand language. When a company has a well-defined ‘why,’ it can connect with customers at a deeper level by tapping into the limbic brain, which is the area of the brain that drives decision making.
      • Quote: “When we start with ‘why,’ we’re talking directly to the part of the brain (limbic) that controls decision making.” 
  • Quote: “Great leaders are those who trust their gut. They are those who understand the art before the science. They win hearts before minds. They start with ‘why.’”
    • Takeaway — It’s crucial to connect with customers at a deeper level than simply product features or price. This is done by having a well-defined purpose and ‘why.’ When the company has this, it taps into the emotion-controlled limbic part of the brain. Ultimately, most decisions come from this place. 

Ch. 5: Clarity, Discipline, and Consistency

  • Clarity of ‘Why’ — Everything always starts with ‘why.’ But in order to have an effective ‘why’ or pushier behind your business, it must be stated clearly. The ‘why’ has to be crystal clear and easily understood by executives, employees, customers, and other key stakeholders. 
  • Discipline of ‘How’ — Once the ‘why’ has been clearly defined, it’s about creating processes and systems that hold everyone accountable to executing the ‘why.’ This is where core values come into play.
    • Creating Values — It’s not enough to have one-word values like ‘innovation’ or ‘honesty.’ The values need to be actionable verbs, like, “always do the right thing” or “look at the problem from a new angle.”
      • Quote: “Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea of how to act in any situation. We can hold each other accountable to them, measure them, or even build incentives around them. Simply telling people to have integrity doesn’t guarantee that their decisions will always keep the customer’s or client’s best interest in mind. Telling them to ‘always do the right thing’ does.”
  • Consistency of ‘What’ — Everything the company says or does has to prove what it believes or else a ‘why’ is just a belief and that’s it. There has to be consistency in the company’s hiring, marketing, culture, products, etc. Everything needs to be aligned and consistent. When you’re consistent, you’re authentic.
    • Quote: “Absent a balanced Golden Circle, means no authenticity, which means no strong relationships, which means no trust. And you’re back square one selling on price, service, quality, and features.”
  • Interesting Fact — Southwest Airlines is the most profitable airline of all time and has never reported a loss, even after September 11. The company’s first flight was from Love Airfield in Dallas, Texas to Houston. The company started as a budget airline that specialized in short, cheap flights. At first, the only destinations Southwest served were Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. 

Ch. 6: The Emergence of Trust

  • Establishing Trust — Trust with employees and customers is earned by proving that you’re committed to your ‘why.’ Trust is gained when the company takes action that isn’t self-serving. 
  • Company Culture — Taking great care of employees is the foundation of trust. Vanguard and Southwest are examples of companies that take care of their employees. Company culture is also a big factor — you have to create an environment that employees want to be associated with. You have to create a culture where everyone values the same beliefs and everyone is working towards a common goal.
    • Quote: “It’s not products or services that bind a company together; it’s not size and might that make a company strong; it’s the culture — the strong sense of beliefs and values that everyone, from the CEO to the receptionist, shares.”
  • Quote: “The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen. It is the people inside the company (or department) — those on the front lines — who are best qualified to find new ways of doing things.”
    • Takeaway — You have to trust people as a leader. The people who are doing the day-to-day work and are passionate about it should be trusted to do their job. Do not be a micromanager. These are the same people who will have some great ideas on how to do things better. Value their opinion. Trust their judgment. And encourage risk-taking — it’s the only way to grow. A culture where employees are scared to take risks for fear of consequences is the worst culture you can create.  
  • Higher Purpose — Again, the focus of the company and all of its employees should be on fulfilling its higher purpose or ‘why.’ When the company gets too caught up in just product development, complacency can begin to set in. There needs to be a higher purpose that the company is trying to achieve.
    • Quote: “If you’re curious as to how Colgate finds itself with 32 different types of toothpaste today, it’s because every day, people come to work to develop a better toothpaste and not, for example, to look for ways to help people feel better about themselves.” 
  • Paying It Forward — When a company treats its employees really well, that treatment gets passed on to customers and clients, who normally end up becoming loyal repeat customers. Leaders of a company need to create an environment that prioritizes the health, wellness, and happiness of employees. Without it, success is impossible. Southwest Airlines is one of the premier examples of this concept in action. 

Ch. 7: How a Tipping Point Tips

  • Look for Loyalty — The customers who believe in your purpose are the best customers you can find. Loyalty pays in business, and you want to serve customers and clients who are aligned with your purpose, values, and beliefs. 

Ch. 8: Start With Why, But Know How

  • Charisma — Leaders have charisma when they are all in on their ‘why’ and have a burning desire to achieve their goals. When leaders are genuinely passionate about their higher purpose, it rubs off on everyone else. 
  • Quote: “Don’t forget — a ‘why’ is just a belief. ‘Hows’ are the actions we take to realize that belief, and ‘whats’ are the results of those actions.”
    • Takeaway — What the company does and how is does it should both be geared towards executing the company’s ‘why.’ Everything the company does should be aligned with its ‘why.’ 
  • Leadership Structure — At high performing companies, the CEO is more of the visionary and takes care of the ‘why.’ The executives handle the ‘how’ — they are focused on building the processes and systems designed to carry out the CEO’s vision. 

Ch. 9: Know Why. Know How. Then What?

  • Growth — As a company grows, it’s even more important to have a well-defined ‘why.’ As more people and departments get involved in a company, it’s easy for the ‘why’ to fizzle out. Having well-designed processes and systems that focus on the company’s ‘why’ will help combat that issue.

Ch. 10: Know Why. Know How. Then What?

  • Consistency Is Key — Remaining consistent with your messaging and branding is important. It’s critical not to lose sight of the company’s ‘why.’ Identify it and bang the drum over and over so people know what you’re about as a company. 

Ch. 11: When Why Goes Fuzzy

  • Interesting Fact — Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962. At the time of this book’s publication, the company generated business that would rank it as the 23rd strongest economy in the world. Walton was the quarterback of his high school football team and won a lot on the field and in general. While Walton’s was running things, Walmart’s purpose and ‘why’ was to help and serve people. Since his death, Walmart has gotten away from that deeper purpose.
    • Quote: “More than anything else, Walton believed in people. He believed that if he looked after people, people would look after him. The more Walmart could give to employees, customers, and the community, the more employees, customers, and the community would give back to Walmart.”

Ch. 12: Split Happens

  • The Success Split — For both individuals and organizations, it’s easy to lose sight of purpose or ‘why’ after achieving a few milestones and experiencing some success. You have to avoid this trap. Those who never lose a feel for their ‘why’ are able to inspire people and are ultimately the best leaders. No matter what, at both the individual and organizational level, never forget why you’re doing it. 
    • Quote: “In the course of building a business or career, we become more confident in what we do; we become greater experts in how we do it. With each achievement, the tangible measurements of success and the feeling of progress increase. However, for most of us, somewhere in the journey we forget why we set out on the journey in the first place.”