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

What drives your actions?

Why are some individuals and groups more creative, powerful, and successful than others? Why do some demand higher levels of loyalty from both clients and staff? Why can so few people, even among the elite, consistently replicate their success?

Though they may not have much in common, the Wright Brothers, Steve Jobs, and Martin Luther King Jr. all began with a reason. Their innate capacity to begin with why allowed them to accomplish amazing things and serve as an inspiration to everyone around them.

Simon Sinek found that the most influential leaders in history all think, act, and communicate in the same way—which is the total antithesis of how other people think, behave, and communicate. This potent concept, which Sinek refers to as The Golden Circle, offers a foundation upon which movements can be led, organizations can be established, and individuals can be motivated. And WHY is where it all begins.

Most organizations are able to describe what they do, and some even explain how they do it, but very few are able to explain why they do it. WHY is not profit or money; those are outcomes, always. WHY is your company in existence? Why does it act in the ways that it does? WHY do consumers choose to do business with a certain company? WHY do people follow certain leaders with loyalty and not others?

Beginning with WHY is effective in politics, charitable work, and both small and large business. People who begin with WHY never manipulate; instead, they motivate. Furthermore, those that follow them do so voluntarily rather than out of obligation.

Sinek creates a compelling picture of what it takes to lead and inspire by drawing from a variety of true events. Anyone looking to inspire others or discover someone to inspire them should read this book.