Start with Why with Simon Sinek
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I went to see Simon Sinek last week at the Business Chick’s breakfast seminar which focused on Simon’s philosophy: Start with why?
While I really love Simon’s approach to clarifying “why you got into business” and the purpose behind why we do things (or what he calls the Golden Circle – why how, what), I was disappointed on two fronts by the event:
1. I wanted more insights and tactics on how we uncover our Why? Most people will agree that their is value in uncovering this but, don’t just know where to start. We probably all got this fairly quickly and yet it seemed to be most of the presentation on why it was important. I think it goes deeper than just noticing how you feel about doing certain things. I wanted some of those activities and insights to help us on this journey.
2. His talk was basically identical to the Audible book I had listened to and so was disappointed by the lack of innovation he brought to the presentation. Given that he has a reputation for being innovative, I wanted to hear something more than what the book provided. I wanted more interaction. I wanted it to cater more to the audience. Here we were, 30+yrs professional women who had certain traits and characteristics and this could been leveraged to make the presentation relevant and engaging for us. It was very one way and one dimensional. It was a shame because I was really looking forward to it. Simon looked like he didn’t wanted to be there and was just going through the motions. My friend Pete and I left underwhelmed!
While his presentation wasn’t that engaging his concepts are. My True North Personal Planning book might help you if you are interested in trying to uncover your why.
Here are some nice quotes that Business Chick’s noted that Simon made during the talk:
“When you work really hard but don’t know where you’re going it’s called stress. When there’s a destination it’s called passion.”
“When we have a clear destination the route is flexible.”
“The goal is to surround yourself by people who believe what you believe.”
On leadership …
“You cannot lead a company; you can run a company. You lead people.”
“If people are willing to take risks for you, willing to sacrifice for you, then you’re a leader.”
“Leaders are the compass. That’s the only role of a leader.”
“You can learn more about someone by who they follow than you can about the leade.r”
“We follow leaders not for them, but for ourselves.”
On people …
“Curiosity is the single most valuable asset in your people.”
“Big things happen because young people have crazy ideas; it’s beautiful!”
“We’re not joining a company; we’re joining a team, a group of people.”
Simon says …
“Stop worrying about things you can’t control, and start obsessing about things you can.”
Dan says….
” You need to walk the talk to be authentic.”
