Summary Of Start With Why By Simon Sinek

The book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, written by Simone Sinek, is a necessary read for anyone wanting to take a deeper look at their leadership style. Simon Sinek is an author and motivational speaker with one simple goal, inspire others. Simon Sinek examines numerous companies throughout the book, and how they have been more successful in their business ventures, then others by simply starting with “why”. The “why” as illustrated throughout the book is the most powerful tool a leader has, but is often forgotten, or even worse, never realized. (discuss the apple Harley etc.) Likewise, it is paramount for the leaders in our Army to have the ability to think outside of the box, be innovated, and adaptable.

There are a myriad of takeaways through a thorough examination of the concepts presented by Sinek. This book review will focus on three of his concepts that will enhance the ability of Army Leader’s, to lead: knowing the difference between their “what” and their “why,” providing clarity, and leading with “why” instead of the “what.”
Start with “Why” vs “What”
The “what” versus the “why,” is discussed throughout the book.

Sinek describes how most companies can easily define “what” they do, however, very few can tell the customer “why” they do it. In fact, most Soldiers can tell you the “what” they do in the military. However, to tell someone the “why” they do it could pose a much greater challenge. Sinek uses the Golden Circle for the foundation of why great leaders should utilize their “why” versus their “what” to be an effective leader. Sinek writes, “The Golden Circle was inspired by the golden ratio- a simple mathematical relationship that has fascinated mathematicians, biologists, architects, artists, musicians and naturalist since the beginning of history” (pg. 37). The Golden Circle, as shown in figure 1, is comprised of three circles: The Outer-most ring is the “What,” this is what the company does to fulfill their core belief. The next ring is the “How,” this is how the business fulfills their core belief. Finally, the innermost ring is the “Why,” this is the core belief of the business. It is why the business exists. Sinek uses the Golden Circle to illustrate how many companies begin with what they do, instead of why they do

it.
The “what” someone does is very simple for most people to answer. In the Army, the “what” is easily defined; “The Army’s mission is to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders.” (website 1). The “what” in the Army is important to understand, and most can tell you “what” they do. A Soldier might say, “I’m an artilleryman. I shoot explosive rounds out of a howitzer.” However, knowing the “what” he does is not critical to his success of being a Leader.
What is critical to the success of a Leader in the military is understanding their “why”. Sinek uses Apple numerous times in his illustrations of why it is significant to start with “why”. What sets Apple apart from their competitors, is their knack to start with their “why”. Apple works from the inside out, and by doing so, they generate a following of clients that believe what Apple believes. Sinek does an excellent job demonstrating this idea, “We make great computer. They are beautifully designed, simple to use and user-friendly. Wanna buy one?” (pg.41). In this example, Apple has started out with what they do; however, this is not how Apple communicates. Messages like this will not inspire people to follow or to share the same beliefs as that Leader. Leaders must know their why in order to inspire their subordinates to believe in the same cause.
Consumer do not buy what the companies does, whether they realize it or not. However, what they do buy is why a company’s exist. This is demonstrated using Sinek’s comparison of Apple, “everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. And we happen to make great computer. Want to buy one?” The content in this example is similar to the previous example, but with one major difference, it starts with “why”. Apple does a great job in getting its consumers to believe in their why. They do not have to manipulate people to purchase their products; in fact, because the consumer believes in their “why,” they will be loyal to Apple even if it is not the best product. As Leaders in the Army, it is essential to recognize the Soldiers “why”. When Leaders understand the “why”, they will generate a groundwork of trust that they can build upon; and this will make them a more effective Leader.
Providing Clarity
Leaders often assume they know everything about their subordinates; however, those assumptions are often wrong.

Assumptions are established on inadequate information, leading to unexploited opportunity, in which Leaders fail to see the entire picture. Don Miguel once said, “Don't Make Assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings.” (website 2). The author of the book provides a great analogy about assumption, and it ties into the military perfectly. He uses the two automakers, one is Japanese, and the other is American. Both automakers have the same assembly line, and produce the same car; however, there is one major difference between the two of them. At the end of the assembly line, the American automaker uses a rubber mallet to ensure the door fits, whereas, the Japanese automaker does not. The Japanese automaker took the time in the beginning to ask the right question, and did not assume anything. They also knew that if there were a point of failure, it would have been in the planning and preparation, not the execution. Leaders can learn a lot from this, in this case, ask the right question in beginning, do not

assume.
Leaders should start at the beginning with their “why”, whether it is planning for a mission, or an initial counselling with a Soldier, the “why” provides clarity. Likewise, Leaders should not assume that they know their subordinates “why”, but ask the necessary questions to know and understand their Soldiers. Leaders in the military struggle with this idea, often leaning on “what” needs to be done, instead of “why” it needs to be done. Leaders will give a task with what needs to be done, but not “why” it needs to done. This leaves Soldiers lacking clarity, and in return, Soldiers are less productive.
The five-gorilla analogy relates this concept very well. Five gorillas are placed in a cage with a bundle of bananas tied to the top of their cage. One of the gorillas climbs a ladder placed just beneath the bananas, when he reaches the bananas he is soaked with water. A few minutes later another gorilla attempts to climb the ladder and the same results happen. A third gorilla attempts to climb the ladder, however, this time the others stop the gorilla from reaching the bananas. One-by-one they remove one of the original gorillas, and replace them with a new gorilla. Every time a new gorilla attempts to climb the ladder, they are stopped. Eventually, all the original gorillas are removed. After a short period, one of the gorillas ask, why are we stopping each other from getting the banana? The gorillas understood “what” they were doing, but did not know “why” they were doing it. They had no clarity.