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Tag: Start With Why

  • Energy vs Charisma , which inspires?

    Energy can excite but charisma truly inspires people.

    A highly energetic person through his power of speech can convince an audience for some time , excitement can give rise to “dopamine” flow but the impact can never be long lasting.

    Take the case of Steve Ballmer and his energetic speeches.They were good for the moment but never long lasting since it never communicated the WHY to the audience.

    A charismatic person like a Steve Jobs used to have the audience riveted to their seats during a presentation and left them with memories since it truly communicated the WHY to a target audience in a very subtle manner.

    Thus a charismatic leaders stands out when it comes to inspiring an audience for desired action.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why

  • 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

  • The destination is never “fuzzy” to a great leader

    A great leader is one who has a clear vision that helps in showing followers the proper destination.

    A weak leader or a micro manager is one who is not sure of the destination himself.As a result of this the followers never have a clear sense of vision.

    The human brain is oriented in a manner that it feels relaxed when provided a clear sense of direction.The moment the direction is crystal clear the human brain is able to devise innovative means to reach the destination irrespective of obstacles on the way.

    Thus a clear sense of direction keeps the followers engaged towards the vision.

  • Reason our “WHY” should be for service to others

    The concept of WHY was introduced by Simon Sinek in his iconic book titled “Start With Why”.

    A WHY is another name for finding a deep filled purpose in our lives.This has to be in sync with our own personality traits as well.

    When we run after short term benefits , hit a goal , get a promotion we do find moments of happiness which is short lived.This is like a “dopamine hit” which is bound to die after some time.

    Hence our sense of purpose has to be long term.When we delve deep and find our purpose or WHY , more often it is part of a futuristic vision which is bigger than ourselves.

    When we work towards attainment of the WHY , we sense the flow of “oxytocin” or the fulfillment chemical that enriches us.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book titled “Start With Why” and “Find Your Why”

  • Are you living your WHY?

    Simon Sinek pioneered the concept of WHY as one which gives us purpose and meaning in our lives.We should each strive towards finding out our real purpose or “WHY” in our lives for a fulfilling life.

    When we say and do the things what we truly believe our behavior is regarded as consistent.This is when people start believing in us and are loyal to us.This is true integrity that we exhibit.

    This is when we are truly living our WHY.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book titled “Find Your Why”

  • Understanding Simon Sinek’s individual WHY

    Simon Sinek is the author of best selling books like “Start With Why” , “Find Your Why” , “Leaders Eat Last” , “Together is Better” , “The Infinite Game”.

    He has illuminated the world on the concept of ‘WHY” to give purpose in our lives.

    Let us have a look at the WHY of Simon Sinek and break it into its components.His WHY reads as follows:

    To __________________________inspire people to do things that inspire them

    so that ___________________________________ together , we can change our world

    The first part of the statement following TO relates to the contribution & the part following SO THAT relates to the impact.

    This is how a WHY statement should be structured to derive meaning and purpose in our lives.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book titled “Find Your Why”

  • Why Simon’s vision should inspire one and all?

    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.

  • Amazing quote on persuasion – Simon Sinek