Start With Why - Book Review (part 3-6)

This is the second post of my review of Simon Sinek's famous book "Start With WHY". Part one can be found here.

Part 3: Leaders Need a Following

Why is great, but you need the how and what. That is what I took out of part 3 of the book. Best quote is; "A WHY is just a belief, HOWs are the actions we take to realize that belief, and WHATs are the results of those actions. When all three are in balance, trust is built and value is perceived." (Start With Why, pg 85)

Part 4: How to Rally those who Believe

Great section about taking action on the why. Where to take it, learning about the HOW, and applying with the WHAT. It talks about communication and recruiting the right people. Favorite quote from this section; "Finding people that believe what you believe, not just on skillset."

Part 5: The Biggest Challenge is Success

So true. Scaling is the most challenging thing. I've been lucky to be part of many scaling organizations. Everyone does it slightly different, with different levels of success. This section has many great examples about the partnership between WHY and HOW. Examples like Microsoft with Gates and Allan (Start With Why, pg 194) and Walmart's success and falling after the death of Sam. Great chapter on the Split, and how to avoid that pitfall. Split happens when the WHY leaves the company without leaving the legacy of the WHY. It also digs into measuring what matters (hints at OKRs). It also has a chapter on how the c-suite leadership role changes as the company scales. Must read for any scaling org leader. Favorite quote; "Everything an organization says and does communicates the leader's vision to the outside world. All the products and services that the company sells, all the marketing and advertising, all the contact with the world outside communicates this. If people don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it, and if all the things happening at the WHAT level do not clearly represent the WHY the company exists, then the ability to inspire is severely complicated." (Start with Why, pg 156)

Part 6: Discover Why

This ending part was about his story and how he found his why. Discovering WHY can take time. It is actually a pretty good story on how he discovered the connection between visions and the biology. Neat consideration where he debated, do I try to get a patent, or do I give it away for free. He decided the latter using the celery test of his own WHY. He expresses about how he uses this himself all the time to build a productive company that he has today. He is now very successful and is invited to many talks. The quote I liked the most from this section was the last, "If this book inspired you, please pass it on to someone you want to inspire." (Start With Why, pg 225).

Conclusion

Throughout this book Sinek the message is clear, if you don't have a WHY everything will fall apart eventually. He also digs into specifics around the biology, what else is needed, and how WHY blends with other parts of the organization (HOW, WHAT). The golden circle is a great way to look at it and scale an organization. This is a great read for someone looking to build a bullet proof business. You could be the WHY person, or maybe you are the HOW person. Either way, its good to identify who you are, and what you bring to the table. After that it is all about finding the other half.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Footnote : I really enjoyed this book. I post links out to Amazon and I may earn a small commission though your purchase if you choose to buy this book. This does not inflate the cost of the book.