Source book titled “Together is Better” from Simon Sinek
1) Leadership is not a rank or position to be attained.Leadership is a service to be given
2) Under poor leaders we feel like we work for the company.Under good leaders we feel like we work for each other.
Human brain has two components one the rational brain and the other limbic brain.
Whereas rational brain helps to plan for the future , the limbic or emotional brain often referred as the “elephant” is responsible for emotions.
Thus the rational or analytical part of the brain is often referred to the “Planner” whereas the emotional brain is known as the “Doer”.If emotional brain is the elephant the rational brain is the “rider”.
Thus human behavior is an interplay of these two components.
Chip and Dan Heath mention this in the book titled “Switch”.
Gauri Nanda from MIT had designed a unique alarm clock with wheels named “Clocky”.
This clock was meant to start moving across the room using the wheels instead of giving the provision to “snooze”.
As a result of this the clock gave no chance to the user to neglect the alarm.
What a great invention to tame the “elephant” limbic brain.
“Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath makes a mention of this.
Please see the link below(source today.com) for more details on the invention.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.today.com/today/amp/tdna133547
A “Just Cause” as mentioned by Simon Sinek in “The Infinite Game” is the vision espoused by the infinite minded leader to enable an organization to sustain in the infinite game.
A just cause needs to be deeply personal to those who hear it and for those who espouse it.The more personal the message is , the more deeply or emotions will be stoked to advance the just cause.
This is similar to the “war of independence”.All those who are inspired to fight the battle of independence don’t fight the battle for themselves but for liberating the country from foreign rule so that the countrymen can lead an independent life free from foreign oppression.
The similarities are thus worth mentioning to truly understand the meaning of a “Just cause”
Moon shots are bold inspiring finite goals within the “Infinite Game” not instead of the infinite game.
When John Kennedy had inspired the citizens of USA by proposing the “Landing on Moon” challenge , he offered an infinite context for the finite objective.
His message said:
“We set sail on the new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained , and new right to be won , and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.”
Though this seemed an impossible mission at that time , the objective was finite.Hence even though this was a super human achievement for mankind , very few people seem to still remember and get inspired by it.
This makes “moon shots” separate from a “just cause” which is core to an “infinite game”
Simon Sinek makes these apt points in his book titled “The Infinite Game”
Vision statements that place product at the center of the vision are only useful as long as nothing better comes along , there is no deviation in market conditions and there in no disruptive technology that is invented.
This thus makes a lot of finite minded assumptions which renders the product extinct in a scenario when a new player comes up with a disruptive product.
Also communicating the product as the “best” in the vision statement makes the company statement fall flat when a newer better product is eventually invented by a disruptive player and hence instead of focusing on the product it would be much better to highlight what consumer pain point the product would be able to solve.
Simon Sinek highlights these points while mentioning about “A Just Cause” in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.
Simon Sinek in his book titled “Together is Better” highlights the following to mention when we humans truly feel fulfilled.
He says that most of us live our lives by accident ,doing jobs to make both ends meet while not necessarily liking the jobs that we do.
Truly fulfillment comes when we live our lives on purpose
Simon Sinek in his book titled “Together is Better” throws light on some unique leadership traits exhibited by infinite minded leaders , focused on the long term.
Simon Sinek , the author of the best selling book “Start With Why” has the following vision which is sure to inspire one and all seeking inspiration in their everyday lives.
“To build a world in which the vast majority of us wake up every single morning inspired to go to work , feel safe when we’re there and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.”
I personally find this very inspiring.