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    Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
    Unavailable
    Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
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    Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
    Audiobook7 hours

    Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

    Written by Simon Sinek

    Narrated by Simon Sinek

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their successes over and over?

    People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why. Their natural ability to start with why enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things.

    In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way—and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with why.

    Any organization can explain what it does; some can explain how they do it; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not money or profit—those are always results. Why does your organization exist? Why does it do the things it does? Why do customers really buy from one company or another? Why are people loyal to some leaders, but not others?

    Starting with WHY works in big business and small business, in the nonprofit world and in politics.

    Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And people follow them not because they have to; they follow because they want to.

    Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire. This audio book is for anyone who wants to inspire others or who wants to find someone to inspire them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAscent Audio
    Release dateJul 1, 2015
    ISBN9781469033051
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Start with Why

    4/5

    512 ratings39 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great book that delivers on its title. To inspire we need to change our focus from what or how we do things to why we do them. He claims that shift can streamline communications inside and outside a company and is what helps to make an emotional connection. Its not that you have never heard this kind of idea, however it is the way he presents and plays with this concept that that makes it worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Inspirational bookThis book gives a very good explanation of what makes a leader and what you need to become one.It is one of the best books on the subject of understanding why you do what you do to make a living whether you are a small business or a large corporation.The ideas presented in this book are very interesting and well developed with insight as to what a great leader should be doing.I'm a believer that we should all start with WHY.
    • 3/5
      Watch the TED talk. The book is okay if you're reading it over a long period of time, but the audiobook is unbearably repetitive.
    • 5/5
      The concepts, and even the model, that Simon Sinek shares in his book "Start with Why" are not new. Nonetheless, he has written an inspiring book. The reason Sinek inspires is because he integrates those concepts and clarifies their WHY—the purpose those concepts serve. Sinek effectively explains the source of inspiration at the individual and organizational levels and how to tap into that source for ourselves and those we would lead. Sinek provides practical advice as to how to inspire self and others. Anyone aspiring to lead will find this book a worthwhile read.
    • 4/5
      An inspiring book, that throughly illustrates the reason for which some businesses are able to succeed: by providing to human beings (their employees, their customers etc.) a "reason" to believe. Sinek is able to illustrate the book with a variety of very good examples, grounding the idea in a very to ease approach.
    • 5/5
      Great book, covers one topic and covers it well.1. Start with Why, this is the filter through which all of your decisions will be made.2. Now, the What, the what is a demonstration of the Why.3. Finally the How, this is the nitty gritty details of getting the 'What' done.
    • 3/5
      Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. I keep books on management and leadership in my reading rotation because that's what every book on leadership and management I've read says managers and leaders should do.

      Sinek's premise is that great companies have an identity shared by their employees and customers that revolves around why the company/product exists rather than what the company/product does. Apple, as a frequent example, has a slogan of "Think Different" -- it's why it exists (think of the 1984 Big Brother Super Bowl commercial). People who buy Apple buy into that identity, they see it as a cause rather than just a product.

      Other companies had products similar to iPods and iPhones before Apple rolled them out. But their marketing focused on what the devices could do, rather than why the customer should have one. A device that allows you to "hold hundreds of hours of mp3 files" is different psychologically than a device that lets you "have 1,000 songs in your pocket." That's why Apple succeeded while the others failed.

      Sinek maintains competing on price, quality, rebates, celebrity endorsements, and clever marketing are "manipulations" that doom companies to mediocrity. But he does acknowledge the importance of "How," it's the second rung of the "Golden Circle" (love these business books defining vernacular). "Why" leaders need "How" people to organize their companies into efficient machines to deliver their product and message. But Why should be at the center of everything.

      Key takeaways:
      1. Keep returning to your "Why" and make sure it is instilled in your company so that it exists long after you're gone. Apple lost its "Why" when Steve Jobs was fired.
      2. Avoid the temptation to focus on the "What" after you achieve success. Microsoft used to have a slogan of "A PC in every office and on every desk." Now, it's not clear what their "Why" is, and they've floundered.
      3. Make sure you hire people that match up with your "Why," and not your "What" or "How." The CEO who replaced Steve Jobs after he fired was a great How guy but he didn't get the Why.
      4. Pair yourself with good How people to make your business run efficiently. Jobs needed Wozniak; Gates needed Balmer (and vice versa).

      As a Christian who is actively studying the doctrine of work and vocation, I agree with Sinek on the "Why" principle. Too many Christians identify themselves with what they do rather than why they do it. Ultimately, we should work, create products, start businesses, and help others for the glory of God and as an act of worshiping Him who gave us the capacity and the mandate (Genesis) to do such things. Our churches, likewise, should focus on the Why. A What church is one that is focused on having the best music, right programs, the highest attendance, the most baptisms, etc. rather than on leading people to a deeper relationship with Christ and one another. Churches stagnate and even become legalistic after they start focusing on the What.


      Tivo might be the best example Sinek gives of a "what" company that performed dismally with a great product. The company focused marketing on the features of the product rather than the power and freedom that it gave TV watchers. Sinek proposes some alternative "why" pitches for companies like Tivo to get his point across.

      Some of Sinek's conclusions are problematic or contradictory. He holds up Southwest Airlines as successful due largely to putting the employee, rather than the customer or the shareholder, first. But at the end of the day, it's the shareholders that have to be on board with the strategy. Other aspects of Southwest's business model that made it different from the other airlines go unmentioned. GM and Chrysler will gladly tell you that paying high wages and good benefits to employees-- putting them first-- only worked for so long in the face of global competition. That's life. Sinek's escape hatch is a carefully inserted caveat that "best practices" are not universally applicable-- every company, market, and situation is different.

      Wal-Mart is another problematic what/why example in my view. Sinek maintains that Sam Walton's Wal-Mart was "obsessed with serving the community," whereas the modern Wal-Mart is only obsessed with low prices. This doesn't jive with other works on Wal-Mart I've read, it has always been Low Prices Every Day (and now it's Live Better). Sinek concludes that Walton just did not do a good enough job articulating his "Why" because the "Why" of a leader or company is more like a feeling than something that can be described by English. As a result, later CEOs got the What and the Why confused. I would argue that Low Prices and Live Better are still "Why" visions, nobody is better at delivering what consumers want at the lowest price than Wal-Mart.

      I'm currently prepping to teach a section of Managerial Economics for MBA students. Production managers focus very much on the How and What. Competing on price is effective-- if you have properly estimated a demand curve for your product then proper pricing is not a "manipulation." Sinek's analysis falls short in this area. I would say he also falls into a false sense of thinking he is the first person to "discover" (his word) why people do what they do. Most people just don't read anything older than 20 years to know there really is "nothing new under the sun."

      3 stars out of 5.
    • 1/5
      Start with the title. You're done. The rest of the book simply gives examples of those companies that had vision and those that didn't. If you already believed the basic premise, there was little to gain. It didn't explain how to keep why paramount in your day to day work, how to find why if you are working in a job without a clear purpose, how to inspire others to share your vision.
    • 4/5
      some good ideas, some thoughts that really resonated. The examples were more annoying than helpful. oozing with love for Apple.
    • 5/5
      As an entrepreneur, the book feels very real. I’m going back to evaluate where I lost my way.
    • 5/5
      An excellent read. I recommend to all who choose living
    • 5/5
      Thanks Simon; I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook
    • 5/5
      A book which gives a clear sense of how it is to live life with and without a meaning.
    • 5/5
      Just wow gonna hear it again.Its a guide to wisdom.
    • 5/5
      Simon uses relevant and exciting examples and brings a perspective to a new entrepreneur that can give them an advantage right out of the gate!
    • 5/5
      Interesting insights and clearly explained point of view. Good job
    • 5/5
      Great book indeed wanted to read it listen for a while now, glad that I did. Simple things, but not less important because of that.
    • 5/5
      Excellent flow, thoughts and quotes. Typically a book of this nature will have a lull at some point where you may consider ditching the book, however it kept me engaged throughout. Highly recommended for any entrepreneur or business leader.
    • 5/5
      I feel very inspired and I cannot wait to practice things I have learned. I am definitely sharing this book with as many people as I can.
    • 3/5
      There is a good premise here and learnings for leaders. However, this content just has not aged very well. The examples are outdated and less relevant to business today.
    • 4/5
      In a very simple diagram, Sinek reminds us the importance of connecting to our vision to pull through tough or uninspiring moments and to keep our actions ligned to strategy. It's compelling, easy and well explained. The book could have been a pamphlet, however: it's extremely repetitive with the usual examples of Apple and Microsoft, which became tiresome.A good reminder on how to reconnect with fundamentals when establishing an idea.
    • 3/5
      The core of this book is around the ‘why’, and his logical framework of going from ‘why’ to ‘how’ to the ‘what’. The ‘what’ refers to the result of the actions. There are some excellent points in the book; however, he repeats points again and again. As long as you can take away the core message, then the book is worth reading. Luckily, it is not a dense book so that it can be read quickly.
    • 1/5
      A simple (but not new) idea beat into the ground with an unorganized salad of anecdotes. Really painful to read, because I'm pretty sure that the author is smarter than this book appears.

      Early on, he promises a later chapter about how you can discover your WHY. Yes, he always puts that in all caps. I never could find that, even in the short section titled "Discover WHY".

      In the acknowledgements, he thanks his editor who "let me push him to do things differently." Looking at the finished product, that was probably not a smart decision.

      I haven't seen the TED Talk, but I would recommend spending 20 minutes on that and skipping this book.
    • 5/5
      Rated: A-Simon Sinek is one of my mentors. Love his perspective on life. Leaders need to Inspire a Shared Vision which starts with Purpose -- your WHY. For the most part, the book is filled with wisdom of why WHY is so important as a starting point to align people with purpose and passion. His TED-talk got to the heart of the matter while the book's take one HOW and WHY was a little messy.
    • 4/5
      Excellent book on personal development and leading with purpose in life
    • 5/5
      Very good and amazing audio book that can do things and listen at the same time
    • 5/5
      Something one should surely read. It gives me a lot of sense of our existence.
    • 5/5
      Exceptionally simple but not easy to do. Well done Simon!
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book , highly reccomended and very inspirational
    • 5/5
      100% elucidating. I enjoyed every bit of it. Better equppied..