“The MIND can be CONVINCED but the HEART must be WON.”
This is a very famous quote of Simon Sinek adopted from his book Together is Better.
The human rational brain is used for analysis and understands language , rational thought and logic.
But more often that NOT it is the limbic brain that understands only signals , emotion , love , affection that has to be CONVINCED in order to result in CHANGE.
“When we tell people to DO THEIR JOBS we get WORKERS.
When we TRUST people to GET THE JOBS DONE, we get LEADERS.”
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s quotes.
“The BEST way to find JOY in our LIVES or OVERCOME STRUGGLE is with the HELP OF OTHERS.”
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s quotes
“Trust is BUILT on telling the TRUTH , NOT telling people what they want to HEAR.”
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s quotes
“We fight AGAINST things we HATE.
We fight FOR things we LOVE.”
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s quotes
When the person who personifies the WHY departs without clearly articulating WHY the company was founded in the first place , they leave no clear CAUSE for their successor to lead.
The new CEO will focus on WHAT rather than the WHY.Worse they may even try to implement their own VISION without considering the JUST CAUSE.
In these cases the leader can work against the CULTURE of the company rather than building it.The results is poor culture , poor performance , mass exodus to name a few.
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why
In nearly every case of a person or an ORGANIZATION that has gone on to INSPIRE people to DO GREAT THINGS , there exists this special partnership between a person who knows the WHY and another who knows the HOW.
This relationship starts to clarify the VISION statement and MISSION statement of an organization.
The vision statement is WHY the company exists whereas a mission statement are guiding principles based on HOW the company intends to create the future.
Bill Gates was the visionary who imagined a world with the PC , Paul Allen knew HOW to execute this vision.
Similarly Steve Jobs had the vision about the Mac and Steve Wozniak knew HOW to give this shape.
The list goes on…The point here is that unless and until there is a partnership between such like minded people with complementary skill set , the true magic on inspiring by innovating falls flat.
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why
The struggle that so many companies have to differentiate or communicate their true value to the outside world is NOT a BUSINESS PROBLEM.
Rather it is a BIOLOGY PROBLEM.
This is just like a person struggling to put emotions to words relying on metaphors , imagery etc. in order to attempt what we feel.
Exactly for organizations such a message which has to be understood by the human LIMBIC brain needs to be based on belief and stories which have no rational explanation.
Once communication starts inside OUT from WHY to HOW and WHAT the message becomes easy to understand and more credible.
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why
James Bond Stockdale was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years. Commander Stockdale was the most senior naval officer held captive in Hanoi, North Vietnam.
His sheer ability to survive during tough times and come out triumphant has inspired Jim Collins to make a mention about “The Stockdale Paradox” in his book Good To Great.
The Stockdale Paradox is stated as follows:
“Retain faith that you will prevail in the end , regardless of the difficulties
AND
At the same time confront the most brutal facts of your CURRENT REALITY , whatever they might be.
A great organization powered by a Level 5 leader never loses hope during tough times.They know that these are part & parcel of the infinite game of business and face the brutal facts of reality to rejig and come back stronger.
This paradox is not only inspirational and applicable for organizations as well as individuals.
“Where a FINITE minded player fears things that are NEW or DISRUPTIVE , the INFINITE MINDED player REVELS in them.”
Adopted from Simon Sinek’s quotes