It was on the last day of the Zappos Culture Camp that I met Simon Sinek. It was their quarterly company meeting and in true Zappo style, they hired a theatre and invited inspirational speakers to share the day with their 1300 staff members. I clapped (and yes, I may have ululated with joy) when Simon Sinek was announced as speaker. I had just read his book Start with Why and could not believe my luck that I was meeting him in person.
In this book, Simon shares the view that you cannot do the “how, what or where” if you don’t understand “why” you do things. At Chartered Wealth Solutions we unanimously agree that our “why” is to help clients retire successfully.
Simon’s next book, Leaders eat last, is a wonderful book focusing on Leadership. I shared these insights with my business partners and of course, at our next monthly breakfast meeting with all the staff at Chartered Wealth Solutions, we watched Simon’s Ted Talk video together.
We now host a monthly business strategy breakfast with our entire team where we eat together, learn from each other and catch up on work and personal issues.
Learning from Simon Sinek’s books
In studying some of the leaders who have influenced the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate alike. Sinek calls this The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.
Sinek believes that successful organisations can clearly articulate WHY they do what they do. He believes that by starting with WHY we exist as a company, inspires loyalty and employees who follow their leader because they want to, not because they have to.
Simon Sinek’s second book, Leaders eat Last, expands on his first book and deals with leadership strategy at an organisational level. He believes that employees follow their leaders more readily if they feel that their company and colleagues back them up – no matter what. It is about establishing a culture of security, safety and trust in leadership, co-workers and the direction of the company.