Just Finished Reading: Start With Why – How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek (FP: 2009)

I came across the author on YouTube and was honestly impressed. He talked a great deal of sense about organisations and leadership. He was calm, rational, thoughtful and funny. I really liked him. I added this, his first book, to my Amazon Wish List with the idea that I’d pick it up at some point when I was in the market for something a bit different. Some weeks later I noticed that one of our Management Planning Groups were giving them away to anyone who wanted them. How could I resist a free book!

So, somewhat ahead of ‘schedule’ I read it. Surprisingly, especially after enjoying his presentations so much, I was rather disappointed by the whole thing. Despite its short length (only 225 pages) he repeated himself constantly. His real world examples of inspirational leaders (who knew WHY they did what they did) were few – MLK, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the Wright brothers – but used endlessly to get across the same message that he could have probably managed in 100 pages or less: If you know WHY (yes, in capitals throughout the book!) you’re driven to do something and can keep that WHY at the forefront of your every endeavour then people will pick up on this – because they don’t buy what you produce but WHY you produce it – and become ever loyal customers even when some of your stuff honestly isn’t that good. This explains fanatical Apple users and Harley-Davidson fans who tattoo the company’s logo on themselves even if they don’t own one of the bikes. It’s not about buying a product, a commodity, it’s about buying a lifestyle choice, an attitude a way of being…. And that, in effect, was it. Examples abounded of companies who forgot WHY they existed to fight it out in the margins with new features and money back offers, other companies who lost their way (often after the original inventor died or retired) only to get it back later when they returned to their core values. Then there were others business tycoons who seemed to have everything going for them but were beaten by a shoestring operation who knew WHY they did things and the innumerable companies that never took off because they never figured out their WHY!

After a while it did get more that a little tedious. He did have something interesting to say about advertising which I’ve been noticing since reading this – I can now easily spot companies that don’t know and maybe have never known why they’re in business. I suppose that’s something. All in all this was quite a let-down after watching the author be so dynamic on screen. Regretfully disappointing.