Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

I loved this book. It was engaging, interesting and easy to apply to different scenarios. It is written with a very optimistic tone and I finished the book very motivated and inspired.

A great read for any type of leader to find their WHY and help inspire their team to find their WHY.

I was interested to read about this revised version 15 years after the original release curious to find inspiration. This was a good read and segue into understanding how to think more strategically and the role of a leader is just more than hitting a bottom line because you want to make people to be associated with your brand and values. The book uses Apple , Microsoft and Southwest Airlines as examples frequently as inspiration but surprisingly there is no mention of Tesla. It highlighted the fundamental importance that the responsibilities of the leader and succession planning often ignored is critical. At the heart of this read is the fact that inspirational leaders were not doing it for themselves and prepared to challenge the status quo and build a legacy. Therefore inspiring the people around them to do the same and continue their vision which resonated with followers and not just seeking fame and fortune. The original was a best seller back then as it came out just after the credit crunch and the content in this book was a timely reminder that the everything starts from the top . The leaders who forgotten their organisation's cause in pursuit of short term profits and self reward will invariably bring the organisation down. It might sound its anti capitalist but noting there are driving causes other than money that increases the value of an organisation far more that comes from the top with a clear vision and message that enables confidence and trust to motivate people to do well an contribute to the cause. If this resonates with you then you should give it a read.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I cannot rate this book highly enough to take a different, positive approach to life and work. Like others, I have watched Sinek's Ted Talk on this, and questionned whether the book would add anything more - and boy yes it did. Imagine the Ted Talk expanded to 2 hours long, with more depth, intrigue and examples. What I like most about the book compared to the Ted Talk is that it delves more in to how Starting With Why can influence home life not just work. It's definitely made me a think, and I'm even finding myself taking a different approach around my team at work and the way I explain my actions. I agree, a lot of the examples are repeated (a lot) throughout the book, in particular Apple. I'm not against Apple, and found it useful how the different topics are explained using the same companies as examples - it helps provide the fuller picture. However, let me assure any potential readers that there are also plenty of new examples given too. I'm literally buying my colleagues at work a copy of this book for Christmas (I know, I'll definitely win the "best present of the year" award lol) as I think it's the sort of mindset that everyone needs to be on the same page for. Thankfully my boss is also a fan of Sinek so it shouldn't be too hard. I'd strongly recommend anyone interested in really understanding how to drive yourself or your business forward, should buy this book immediately and read it at least twice (once to read, the second time to take notes as there is so much content!).

in: joaopaleta.com I am very much passionate about Business and the reasons why companies succeed. I see companies as complex living organisms that depend on people to succeed so the topic of success being explained as a derivative of the human behaviors and interactions really gets my attention. Specially the massively complex mechanisms of influencing change and behavior in big organizations. In Start With Why I found a simple but yet powerful concept to do just that. I now use extensively the Golden Circles in my communication, starting with why, and also performing coherence checks on the why, how and whats of companies and people. At a personal level I now have a better awareness of the example I am giving to my kids (3) when I am, or am not, consistent. My kids do what they see the parents doing so I might as well give them a good example. And its not easy to live up to all the words that come out of my mouth. I am actively training myself to increase my integrity levels. After these initial tests I will create a mission, vision, values, principles and perspective for (and with) my family and let you know how it turned out. I am sure it will be fun. A great example of this concept at work is at Tesla Motors. It is amazing how consistent their beliefs, communication and actions are. The same happened over the years with Apple and Steve Jobs. Would love to meet people from these companies to double check that from the company staff perspective the feeling is there as well. From the outside it does seem like its working. If you are curious about this topic check Simon’s Ted talk here and let me know your opinion. So Start With Why opened my appetite for Leadership so I am now going through “The 21 Laws of Leadership” from John Maxwell and also for the roots and reasons behind the great social, political and economical frameworks of our world. João Paleta

Good book worth reading but how it is written it is old fashioned for the Digital Age. I follow Simon in Neural Networks and like his quotes and videos. However this book with so many references to the Industrial Age is not written as you would like in modern times. Apart from the Golden Circle and the Cono with Why there are not many charts or graphs. Simon himself says in the book that he did become obsessed with the idea of why. That is a sign. I came in good faith to write my review as always. I can see why there are quite a number of users saying that the book is not as good they would have liked. Let me continue positive though. Here a few excellent tips from Simon The ability to motivate people is, in itself, not difficult. It is usually tied to some external factor. Great leaders, in contrast are able to inspire people to act. Those who are able to inspire give people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with any external incentive or benefit to be gained. Those who truly lead are able to create a following of people who act not because they were swayed, but because they were inspired. Great leaders and organizations are good at seeing what most of us can’t see. They are good at giving us things we should never think of asking for. Great leaders are those who trust their gut. They are those who understand the art before science they win hearts before minds. They are the ones who start with WHY. It’s what you can’t see that matters Products with a clear sense of WHY give people a way to tell the outside world who they are and what they believe. If a company does not have a clear sense of WHY then it is impossible for the outside world to perceive anything more than WHAT the company does. And when that happens, manipulations that rely on price, features, service or quality become the primary currency of differentiation.

A really good book to reflect on your current position and opportunities in your line of work. Highly recommend and will continue with the series.

I purchased this book as I am a manager and had an issue with motivating a particular member of the team. I found his point about starting with why very beneficial. Asked myself why, before asking the individual. Chapter 1 was painful and pointless so read beyond it as the opening is like swimming through treacle. It's specifically geared at Americans which is OK I guess, just annoyed me a bit (the sort of person who thinks every sentence they make is profound). He tends to repeat his point a lot in all the chapters so probably could have been condensed as he goes off piste a few times. However, in all I am glad I read it and did have some valuable take aways from it hence the higher score. If it was pointless I would have score a 1 but I genuinely do think this is worthwhile if you need to get to the crux of an issue in the workplace.

One idea well known a long time ago repeated in more than 200 pages, the worst book I’ve ever read

لسى ما قريته بس الجوده حلوه مره والكاتب سايمون يعني اكيد الكتاب رهيب وفيه رسومات بالكتاب حبيت مره

It’s a really good book with a lot of advices for people who’s looking more guidance about some activities management to be successful with

The language used in the book makes easy for anyone to read without a break.

Amazing Book. I loved the Celery Test and also Competiting with ourselves and then comparing us with others. We will get lots of motivational books but this book is different from all those others. It inspires us to look out for our why. Worth the money and worth the reading.