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Tag: Simon Sinek

  • What happens when someone who knows “WHY” and another who knows “HOW” unite?

    Historically a significant number of great organizations have been founded by partners who were close to one another , one of whom knew “WHY” to do it and another who knew “HOW” to do it.

    Walt Disney(WHY) and Roy Disney(HOW) were brothers.

    Bill  Gates(WHY) and Paul Allen(HOW) of Microsoft went to high school together.

    Herb Kelleher(HOW) was Rollin King’s(WHY) divorce attorney and good friend and founded SouthWest Airlines together.

    Steve Jobs(Knew WHY) and Steve Wozniak(Knew HOW) were best of friends at high school.

    The list goes on..The point that need to be noted here is that for creating an iconic company , vision alone is not important.

    A person who has the vision knows the WHY of starting the company.His companion who has the wherewithal and the HOW to do the job must complement the visionary in order to create something revolutionary.

    This point has been aptly brought out by Simon Sinek in his book titled “Start With Why”

  • Of Great Organizations whose “WHY” went fuzzy at some point of time

    Great Organizations led by revolutionary infinite minded leaders always “Start With Why”.

    Their communication is not only consistent but gives a clear sense of meaning to the customers which converts them into “loyal” customers.

    Great examples are Sam Walton’s Walmart , Steve Jobs’s Apple , Bill Gates’s Microsoft , Michael Dell’s Dell as well as Henry Ford’s Ford Motors to name a few.

    But even though these iconic organizations have “Started with Why” there have been instances wherein once the visionary leaders left the WHY also got fuzzy with their departure.

    When John Sculley fired Steve Jobs’s and was at the helm of Apple , share prices plummeted and Apple was a shadow of its former self.

    When Kevin Rollins succeeded Michael Dell , his finite minded leadership made the reason WHY Dell existed in the first place irrelevant.

    Same holds good when Steve Ballmer succeeded Bill Gates at Microsoft.

    The list goes on.The point here is that running an organization in the infinite game of life starting with WHY is never an easy proposition.Hence the succession planning in an organization becomes paramount when a visionary leaves.Whenever the WHY has gone fuzzy it has needed the return of an infinite minded leader to bring the organization back on track.

    Dough Mcmillon’s infinite mindset turned back Walmart’s fortunes.

    The same holds good when Steve Jobs’s returned back to Apple.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why

  • What has the “Idea Diffusion Curve” to do with “Customer Loyalty”?

    The Idea Diffusion Curve popularized by Everett Rogers is a bell curve with the following characteristics:

    1. First 2-3% towards the left consists of “Innovators“
    2. Next 14% consists of “Early Adopters“
    3. Next 34% consists of “Early Majority“
    4. Next 34% consists of “Late Majority“
    5. Finally the 16% consists of “Laggards“

    Innovators and Early Adopters are those who are willing to experiment with new products.These are people who are regarded as experts in their respective industry and their “word of mouth” leads to convincing the “early majority” as well as the “late majority”.

    The “late majority” & “laggards” are highly rational people who think a lot before experimenting with a product.

    So in order for a company’s product to become revolutionary they should always target the “innovators” , “early adopters” who are loyal towards a product and are honest enough to spread the “word of mouth” to the masses.

    The right side of the curve consisting of “late majority” & “laggards” are never loyal and shift based on situation and needs.

    Thus the “Idea Diffusion Curve” gives a fair enough idea with respect to influencing “Customer Loyalty”

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why

  • Why is “Emotional Quotient” more sought after?

    In the modern day workplaces , emotional quotient(EQ) is a more sought after characteristic.

    This is because a trustworthy individual with high EQ forms the basic DNA of Trusting Teams which form the essence of innovation in the modern day workplace.

    Intelligence quotient(IQ) or self brilliance can be learnt but without trust cannot be relevant in the modern age.

    Intelligence further more , looks for what is already there or known or solve problems.Brainstorming or thinking out of the box cannot happen individually and needs a team.

    A trustworthy creative individual with high EQ on the other does not fear venturing into the unknown to discover possibilities.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s sayings and books

  • The one thing “High Performing Teams” have in common

    High Performing teams are nurtured in innovation focused organizations led by infinite minded leaders.

    While a team is a group of people who work with each other , in HIGH performing teams , the group of people do not only work with each other , they TRUST each other.

    The feeling of trustworthiness is encouraged by the infinite minded leaders and make the team members feel safe even to the extent of being vulnerable.

    Thus TRUST is the common thread that ties all HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS.

  • Inspiration quote of Simon Sinek

    “The MORE PEOPLE YOU INSPIRE ,

    the MORE PEOPLE WILL INSPIRE YOU.”

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s great quotes

  • Leadership is another name for SERVICE

    The best of leaders with an infinite mindset understand that leadership is a SERVICE to be offered NOT just a rank or position.

    The following quote from Simon Sinek aptly highlights this fact.

    “To LIVE our lives with an INFINITE MINDSET is to LIVE a life of SERVICE.”

  • Making the most out of our LIVES

    The following quote from Simon Sinek offers us advice to change our outlook and lead our lives with fulfillment since life is short lived.

    “Life is NOT a competition , it is a GAME.

    It is NOT about WINNING or LOSING , it is about all the FUN we can have before it ENDS.”

    Knowing LIFE is an infinite game can help us lead our lives with more fulfillment.

     

  • Motivational quote of the day

    “When we work hard for something , we do NOT believe in , it is called STRESS.

    When we work hard for something ,we DO believe in , it is called PASSION.”

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book Together is Better

     

  • Why great leaders “Disseminate” knowledge?

    “It does not matter how much we know.

    What matters is how clearly others can understand what we know.”

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s great quotes