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

Great book. I’m giving this 4 stars because while the message is powerful, I wish there had been more diversity in the stories shared. That said, I really appreciated the perspective and the way the author encourages readers to think deeper about purpose, motivation, and intention. The concepts are practical, thought-provoking, and easy to apply to everyday life. Overall, a worthwhile read that offers valuable insight and inspiration.

I've always heard about Simon Sinek and decided to make the effort to hear what he had to say. I believe it was a Ted Talk "start with why" if my memory serves me correctly. What he mentions about the importance of the core, fundamental reason why people and companies do what they do is very logical, deep and applicable to so many aspects of life that it's not even funny.Now I was never one to put out myself to read certain books, but at the same time it's never good to be ignorant no matter who you are and how much you think/believe you know. So I made the sacrifice to get this book with a simple approach: if it turns out to be a great book, it's a keeper, but if it isn't, at least I've gained that bit of experience and now know better and what to expect in the future.Back to my point on why this is applicable. Example: a lot of companies are struggling like hell (don't let their size or highly complex financial statements fool you) to sell their products and services but it's not solely that the product or service isn't good (although in most instances that's the case). It's down to the reason WHY the product or service exists in the first place. Is it there just to drive product and sales or does it exist to bring people value by making their lives easier in a significant, unforgettable and impactful way for the long term? Think about this for a minute. If they developed it just to push sales, they'll always struggle no matter what-- making dumb, shortcut decisions because it was made FOR THE COMPANY and not THE PEOPLE, meaning it was done out of SELF and not SELFLESSNESS. Having a product or service that exists to make someone else's life better in some way is guaranteed to yield greater results and not just financially.This is just one of the many things to learn from this book and I absolutely highly recommend it. Consider it one of the many books out there that are absolute gems.

I stuck this on a book shelf in the background of a zoom interview and they hired me. I cant read lol.

This book focuses on the idea that great leaders inspire action by clearly communicating their “why,” not just what they do or how they do it. The message is simple but impactful, and it’s supported with real-world examples that make it easy to connect to everyday work and leadership situations.It’s an engaging read that encourages a shift in mindset, especially for anyone leading a team or trying to influence others. While some ideas repeat, the core takeaway is strong and useful, making it a solid choice for personal and professional growth.

love it!

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action is one of those books that sticks with you long after you finish it. Simon Sinek does a great job breaking down what separates average leaders from the ones people actually want to follow. The whole concept of starting with “why” sounds simple, but it really changes how you think about leadership, decision making, and even communication.What I liked most is that it’s not just theory. Its’s practical and easy to apply whether you’re running a business, leading a crew, or just trying to improve yourself. It makes you take a hard look at your purpose and how you present it to others, which is something a lot of people overlook.This is a great read for leaders at any level, but honestly, it’s just as valuable for anyone wanting to become a more effective and intentional leader.

Highly recommend! This book sheds light on the impact that clearly communicating why you do, what you do, has on your customers, employees and communities. We are given real world examples of top global organizations and influential leaders have successfully defined their purpose this way, while others have lost sight of their WHY, and the implications this has had on their brand.

Start with Why surprised me. I expected a typical business book, but it actually changed how I think about leadership and getting people to buy in. The core idea is simple: start with why you do something, then explain how you do it, and only then what you do.Once you see it that way, you realize a lot of companies communicate in the wrong order. The examples make it feel real. I also liked that you can use it right away, whether you’re leading a team, trying to motivate people, or just trying to get someone to actually listen. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to communicate more clearly and get people to truly care about the message.

Recommended

This is a great book for all leaders to read. Learned lot and got some good tips from this book. It is an interesting read and keeps you engaged through the stores Simon shares in the book.

Great idea. Unsure it’s as effective as author claims. I had to read the second book to understand what he was saying in this book. I’ve read it four times. Great theoretical idea. Not sure how practical it is.

Jay Fray dropping wisdom about a book that actually deserves the hype—unlike most leadership trash cluttering your shelves.Simon Sinek's "Start with Why" isn't just another business book; it's the rare read that fundamentally rewires how you think. This isn't fluffy corporate speak or recycled motivation—it's a straight shot of clarity to the brain about what actually drives human decision-making and loyalty.The Golden Circle concept (Why-How-What) seems deceptively simple until you realize almost every organization and leader gets it completely backward. Sinek backs his framework with both compelling case studies and biological realities about how our lizard brains actually make decisions.What sets this apart is how instantly applicable these principles are. Whether you're running a corporation, leading a team, or just trying to get your roommate to do the dishes, understanding the power of starting with "why" creates immediate shifts in effectiveness.The writing style doesn't waste your time with unnecessary padding—it delivers concepts with precision and enough real-world examples to cement understanding without drowning in details. No wonder Sinek's TED Talk blew up.Jay Fray verdict: One of the few business books worth re-reading annually. Skip the airport leadership garbage and invest your time here instead. This isn't just theory—it's a practical framework that actually works in the real world.

I loved this book, very inspiring! It delves deep into various facets of ‘great leadership’ and offers a wealth of actionable insights. All centered around one core theme, “start with WHY”. In fact, I loved it so much that I ordered three copies of this book to gift to my close friends.Addressing some of the comments from the other reviewers, I mainly see two concerns:1. All the concepts are presented in the TED talk already, so we can skip reading this book.2. There is a lot of repetition in the book - repetition of the same examples/concepts over and over again.I have seen Mr. Sinek’s famous TED talk before as well as after reading this book and here is how I compare them. The TED talk is an excellent trailer for the material offered in this book. Mr. Sinek (in this book) presents the “WHY concept” as a framework and then shows how this framework can be applied to different phases/aspects of leadership. “Decision making”, “Trust”, “Authenticity”, are a few leadership aspects that he expands on. Since the same framework is applied to many different aspects and scenarios, we do find that some text and examples are repeated. However, if we patiently continue, we’d find that there is a new, different point being made in every chapter. Overall, regarding the above two concerns - I disagree with the first, while I do have to partially agree with the second.The book teaches a lot about leadership. Here is what you’d learn in each chapter. In other words, here is my ‘why list’ for this book:1. Why ‘decision making’ can’t always be data-driven?2. Why leaders who choose to inspire (as opposed to those who manipulate) command ‘loyalty’?3. WHY is the center of the ‘golden circle’. Introduction to the golden circle.4. Why does the human brain/thinking align with the golden circle? The biology of it.5. Why and how good leaders achieve ‘authenticity’?6. Why and how good leaders manage to earn the trust of their followers/team?1. Why good leaders hire for culture-fit rather than for mere skill?7. Why do greater leaders have this charisma, due to their ability to communicate ‘their why’ clearly?1. Why focusing on early adopters is important? Law of diffusion of innovations.8. Why and how good leaders build partnerships with (how-to) people who can execute the vision to reality?9. Why good leaders should do ‘what they do’ (your actions/results) to reflect their ‘WHY’ (vision)?10. Why leaders use their ‘WHY’ (vision) to filter their decision making?11. Why and how good leaders are successful (and feel successful) every day?12. Why good leaders/companies impart their ‘sense of why’ into their culture?13. WHY of an individual depends upon his past and upbringing. Mr. Sinek’s WHY.14. WHY can keep you going on a long journey in-spite of failures.

I looked at this book dozens of times before deciding not to read it. I’ve watched YouTube interviews of Simon Sinek and liked what he had to say. As a disillusioned new grad in the workplace, I watched his video “millennials in the workplace” and was motivated by it to keep pushing. It made me google him. Thats when I first came across this book. I didn’t buy it.After that, I read a lot of other popular business books on amazon. Amazon kept telling me, “people who read this also read Start with Why”. I looked at it again and still didn’t read it. It seems so basic—I thought I already understood it.Something about needing a new book to read and seeing this recommended for the hundredth time made me decide to read it. Reading it made me realize how unconscious I was.This book is about having direction (Why) instead of being manipulated (How) by shiny new things (What). The default human state it to start with What, figure out How, and then post-rationalize (Why). That state causes people to constantly jump ship, while starting with Why commands trust, loyalty, and long-term success. This idea isn’t new to me, and I doubt it is new to you either, which is the reason I didn’t feel compelled to read this book.However, as I read it, even though I already knew that Why is important, I realized all the places in my life where I don’t really have Whys that I care about. Mostly just Whats and Hows.As I was finishing it, I started putting it’s philosophy into practice. When leading business meetings, or any communications, I made sure to start with why. It put everything into focus and made it easier to filter out ideas that did not align with Why.I also focused more on Why when other people held meetings. I noticed a lot of the time they would focus on What they wanted to do and How they were going to do it, and completely overlook Why. It made me realize I couldn’t give any meaningful input without knowing Why (so I asked). I also noticed that so many other people in the meetings saw the What and suggested their own Hows without understanding Why (have you ever seen people do this?).I’ve just finished this book in the last week, so the long term impact it will have on me is yet to be determined, but I already feel like it was worth the read. Before, I knew that it was important to start with Why, but after reading this I realized I didn’t live by it. Reading the stories and philosophy in the book made me reflect on my own life in a way I hadn’t before, and inspired me to put Why into practice.

A lot of people are searching for a clearer understanding of what "HOW" is (especially judging by the most highly rated review).I was searching for it also. I found it over the course of much labor, across many other books and a large number of hours of additional research. HOW is only how you deliver your product when you start with WHAT - when you start with WHY, your HOW also changes. HOW becomes how you bring your WHY to life in your CULTURE, not productsSo you start with WHY (your purpose). HOW do we deliver a purpose? HOW we deliver a WHY (purpose) is in HOW we behave - through Core Values. With purpose and aligned core values, the broad guidelines for every decision is in place. The validity of every system is obvious. The people to hire are clear. The reasons to fire are even more clear. And every person instantly knows the validity of every decision.Think about it. Just like the golden circle concept, this fits. You cannot go backwards from WHAT (product) to HOW (core values). You will NEVER have an aligned WHY if you write the core values first. The consistency is immediately obvious. The golden circle must be in balance.WHY is the purpose, and HOW are the Core Values around which we make every single decision, even in the absence of the visionary. It's HOW we make our WHY come to life every day. Our core values tell us who to hire, who to fire, and which decisions are right on a micro-level. Is that system or that process true to our core values?Try to create core values. You cannot create genuine, honest core values without first knowing WHY you exist. When you know your WHY (such as apples challenging the status quo), you can then describe the values (in terms of behaviors) that exemplify that WHY. Without a WHY, core values are blatantly phony and greed-serving things. Without a WHY, nobody cares what your core values are, because all we know is your WHAT. If all we know is your WHAT, then the rest just comes down to features and price. But if we know your WHY, we can buy into your HOW (core values), which we see reflected in your WHAT (product)Look at it in the light of Zappos:WHY - to deliver the best customer service possibleHOW - CORE VALUES:1.Deliver WOW Through Service2.Embrace and Drive Change3.Create Fun and A Little Weirdness4.Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded5.Pursue Growth and Learning6.Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication7.Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit8.Do More With Less9.Be Passionate and Determined10.Be HumbleSure, they sell shoes online. But they dont seek to innovate how people shop online (WHAT-based HOW). Instead, they seek to bulid a culture around core values centered on their WHY. Nobody mentions anything about product until the WHAT.The constitution is another great example of a WHY & HOW which guides us in an ever evolving WHAT. It doesnt try to make every law, or build every system. The constitution is our WHY, followed by our HOW. The president knows WHAT because he is guided by the WHY and HOW. When one president is replaced after 4 to 8 years, there is no lapse, no lack of clarity as we find in corporations - Tell me why that is? Because we define our WHY (purpose) and HOW (core values) in our CONSTITUTION, as every good company should have. Without a supreme law of the land, nothing stops a CEO from destroying the company when the prior CEO steps down.UNITED STATES CONSTITUTIONWHY - We believe all humans have a right to life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness.HOW - our Core Values are the values we hold most dear, through which we show what we believe, out of which our culture grows, out of which our laws are defined, redefined, and removed. It does NOT attempt to define every situation, or create every law, or prevent every problem. it is our WHY and HOW, out of which we are left to determine WHAT.We believe in fair representation of the peopleWe believe in freedom to defend ourselves.We believe in speaking out against injustice.We believe in expressing ourselves as we see fit.We believe that no individual should hold total power to undo these things.Hope this helps, or at least stimulates discussion.

Brilliant Book.I recently read a book that had a simple message that basically could be told in half a page worth of words – and as it happens it actually was. But then the author kept on going and going and going and filled up a book in excess of 200 pages just on the very same idea seen from different angles and with different examples.In truth I found that book was boring indeed and found I’m, not a subscriber of a book that basically has just one idea.Now, Simon Sinek’s book “ Start With Why” is actually also about just one idea and like the other book that one idea is really told in less than half a page worth of words and yet this book too extends beyond 200 pages. But this book I loved. It’s a brilliant book indeed. Yes, possibly a little too labored and long at times, but with speed-reading, you are soon past those passages and back into the great stuff again.The difference is that the book uses so many great explorations of the importance and the applications of his idea. It brings anecdotes and references to stories of successful companies from their usage their “why” and how they turned not so successful when they swayed away from their “why”.The idea is greatly exemplified in the book by references to Apple and Steve Jobs, to Richard Branson and Virgin, to Helb Kelleher and SoutWest Airlines, to Bill Gates and Microsoft, Walt Disney and Disney, Martin Luther King and “I have a dream”, Howard Schultz and Starbucks, Michael Dell and Dell Computer and several more.You probably already know the stories of what happened to the companies when Steve Jobs left Apple (was ousted), when Howard Schultz left Starbucks and Michael Dell left Dell Computer – and then you probably know how these companies started to perform again once they came back.It contains great lessons for the rest of us who hold aspirations of leadership and entrepreneurial success and who are trying to build businesses. In other words this book is a great book along the lines of the best books on Mission and Visions. In addition, however, it also spells of the how and shows the importance of the people behind the visionary leader who have been instrumental in making the how work out for the companies – like Steve Wozniak of Apple and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft just to name two of them.Then there’s the “what” – which honestly I didn’t focus on too much when reading the book – or was it because the book didn’t focus much on it either? Either way, the why is the important and the interesting part (great to have a good “how” along the way too – as even I have experienced in at least one of my previous companies).There’s much more I could say about this book, but then I would rather just say: “Just go get it and read it for yourself”.Too much valuable stuff in there for you not to read it. Especially if you wish to lead people and/or if you wish to build a grand company, cause or spread a worthwhile idea.In closing, however, I must say, I also love the brutally honest way Simon Sinek shares his thoughts. He even calls Bill Gates a social misfit (but have no doubt, retains utmost respect for him and his brilliance).Mikkel Pitzner, Serial Entrepreneur, multiple best-selling author and author of forthcoming book: “The Automated Millionaire”.

At a high level, I found Sinek's book very engaging and probably the most underlined book I'd read in a long time. It just seemed to "make sense". The ideas of having inspiring leaders leading great companies to do great things is a pretty well known idea - what Sinek attempts to do is explain the hows of how they did it, and how others do it on a routine basis. The idea is that people by "WHY you do something, not WHAT you do." However, the further and further I got into it, the more I found myself reevaluating what he was saying (since he repeats his key points a lot - not a bad thing, but we get it already), and thinking - that's nice, where's the data?Unfortunately, much of what is offered is anecdotal. After a few rounds of this, I began to put this book in the Malcom Gladwell-esque category - nice ideas, probably correct at very high levels, woefully ignorant of market forces, key indicators, detailed data, and a more in depth analysis of the "actuals" for why things happen:A few examples:(speaking of the civil rights march):"But how many people showed up for Dr. King. Zero" (implying everyone showed up for themselves, b/c it's what they believed) - Really, where are your stats on that...cause I got tons that say otherwise."Loyalty to a company trumps pay and benefits" - Hmmm...Reid Hoffman in 'The Alliance' seems to disagree.(speaking of the failures of cheap-air competitors to Southwest, Ted and Song):"The problem was not WHAT they did, the problem was, no one knew WHY Song or TED existed" - Really, NO ONE knew why they existed? Was that the key indicator of why they failed? I doubt it. The devil, as they say, is always in the details.Insomuch as this book throws out 1-liners like it's going out of style it's very clear and good at what it does - I have a ton to go on from this book. However, I think the overall premise is just flawed, and goes headway against what real data says. Yes, there will always be outliers that inspire people to their products for various reasons. However, aside from a few key one's (Apple, for ex) mentioned in his book, I would suggest someone take a look at the majority of the top Fortune 50 and ask yourself to describe in 1 sentence if you know the "why" of what they do...bonus points if you can guess their marketing slogan (Apple: Think different).Can't? I thought so. Because "why", while important, is not everything Sinek cracks it up to be. I can think of countless charismatic dreamers who created startups with clear ideas of "why" and who got smashed by the market place, withered, and are now mostly forgotten. Oversimplifying "Why" to the point of exultation is a risk I'm not willing to take.A good read, and one I'll recommend to friends, but w/ the */* that it sees the forests and not the trees and, for better or worse, things get more interesting on the ground floor, which this book seems to miss.

I first came across Simon's video on ted.com, it really resonated with me. So I purchased the book "START WITH WHY". From the first couple of pages, I couldn't put it down. In fact I would say it is probably one of the best books I've ever read.This book resonated with me, it gave a harmonious feeling right in my gut. It gave me the exact same feeling I get when I'm doing something at home or at work and I know that I have got it right. I couldn't tell you why, but I just know. For me, finding this book what exactly what I needed right at this time in my life!I have a teenage son who is struggling to figure out what to do with his life, and for myself, I'm having a bit of a mid-life career crisis, and can't understand why I'm not fulfilled in what I do, even though I have a very good job. For my son, the concepts in this book allowed me to have a deep conversation with him about what drives him, what makes him get up in the morning, what is it that makes him tick. And strangely, I knew what it was, and my son even knew what it was, but this made it very clear - music! My son loves music from every angle, listening obviously, but he plays, he reads, he writes, and all of his closest friends are musicians. He even chooses his XBox games based on the music they have in You Tube video, some inspire him, some don't! Now he has signed up to do a music teaching course and help others with the same passion that he has.For me, the book has truly inspired me to get to the bottom of my WHY, I have also just signed up for Simon's "WHY U" course.Relating to the book's actual purpose, about how great leaders inspire and take action, I applied this to my current employer, and as I expected, the WHY is very fuzzy, the WHAT have taken over and the HOW, we just won't go there. Honestly, if you need the inspiration I needed, or even if you don't, I would be putting this book smack bang at the top of your Christmas list!