A Joosr Guide to Start with Why by Simon Sinek

Key takeaways

Approach every venture with the Golden Circle in mind: WHY, HOW, WHAT. Remember—WHY must always comes first.
Get clear and stay clear on your WHY.
Don’t rely on what you think your customers want; be willing to follow your instincts.
Don’t use cheap manipulation tactics. A true leader inspires others with their passion and story to create a loyal following.

When it comes to your business or cause, get really clear on your WHY. Keep reminding yourself of WHY you’re striving for success. Remember that the goal is not simply success, but to keep your success aligned with your WHY. Success can blindside us, even making us lose focus of our WHY. Not only can this lead to feeling disjointed, it can lead to the eventual downfall of our business or mission. True success doesn’t simply lie in our bottom line. Long-term, fulfilling, and inspirational success comes from aligning our goals, and our work toward them, with our passion—our WHY.

Henry Ford famously said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”

Customers don’t always know what they want because they don’t know all of the options available to them.

Entrepreneurs who focus solely on trying to please their customers aren’t focusing on WHY they’re running a business; they bypass the WHY and go straight for HOW. The problem with this is twofold: 1) it can lead you to make decisions that aren’t in the best interests of the company, and 2) it doesn’t take into consideration the fact that many purchasing decisions are not driven by logic.

Motivation and inspiration are quintessentially different.

there are leaders and there are those who lead.

Why? Both teams were highly motivated and had a strong work ethic. The difference, then, was simply passion and the ability to inspire. The Wright brothers were motivated by their passion to fly, and their enthusiasm was inspiring to those around them. Langley was motivated by money and prestige and therefore lacked the fundamental ability to inspire and lead his team.

Decisions are often emotionally driven, so true influencers strive to win people’s hearts by passionately communicating the story of their WHY. To do that successfully, they follow their gut instinct even if it seems somewhat nonsensical to others.

There are three layers to the Golden Circle: the WHY, the WHAT, and the HOW. Companies that manipulate their customers think from the outside of the circle first. They spend all of their time worrying about the HOW and the WHAT and almost always forget about the WHY.
Inspirational leaders, on the other hand, start at the inside of the circle and work their way out. They start with the WHY, which enables them to more easily determine WHAT sort of products or services they will offer and HOW they will run their company.