Book Review: Start With Why; How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, by Simon Sinek; published by the Penguin Group in 2009.

Start With Why coverWhen you pull a book out of my leadership library, the amount of highlighted text is usually a good indicator of how much I enjoyed the book. My copy of Start with Why is filled with passages that are now a bright yellow. I don’t know why it took me six years to finally read this book, but I am so glad I read it now!

Whether you lead a large company, a small company or a team within, it can be a challenge to inspire action. Sinek provides stories of great leaders who moved others to not only act, but to do so with passion and commitment; leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., the Wright brothers, and Steve Jobs. He also wrote about companies who succeeded and those who failed, in large part because of what and how they communicated – or did not communicate.

As the title indicates, it all starts with WHY. Leaders can tell people what to do and even how to do it, but until the people understand WHY they are doing it, that inspired passion and commitment will be scarce. Understanding the WHY is a key to success for organizations of all types. WHY do your clients or constituents buy what you are selling? WHY does your company do things a certain way while a competitor chooses another path? WHY does the organization even exist? And, is everything the organization offers firmly rooted in that WHY?

Important related topics are discussed in Start With Why. From real world examples of companies who did not start with WHY, to an understanding of the need for clarity, discipline and consistency, to leaders, followers and the importance of trust, to what comes after knowing the WHY, this book offers a blueprint for success; then warns us of the challenges of success.

I can’t recommend Start With Why strongly enough. On a more personal level, it gave me great insight to the thought processes of different leader types, including the leaders and managers I worked for. I know that as I go forward and work with my clients, we will always Start With Why!

You can order Start With Why by clicking here for Amazon.com.

Click here to watch Simon Sinek’s TED talk titled How Great Leaders Inspire Action. With over 24 million views, it is one of the most popular TED talks of all time.

For further reading, research and inspiration, click here for StartWithWhy.com.

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