Review of Simon Sinek’s Book Start With Why

Have you heard of Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action? Have you read it? If not, we highly recommend you read this amazing book and we’ll let you know WHY in a second.

“No matter how visionary or how brilliant, a great idea or a great product isn’t worth much if no one buys it. […] Unlike any of their competitors, Apple has successfully challenged conventional thinking within the computer industry, the small electronics industry, the music industry, the mobile phone industry and the broader entertainment industry. And the reason is simple. Apple inspires. Apple starts with Why.”

The book emphasizes the ‘why’ that is essentially the core for all our actions. The WHY drives us as humans to wake up in the morning and achieve fantastic things in life.

So if all of us have a driving force, a why, how come some people and businesses succeed while others struggle? How come the majority of companies battle on price while others – like for example Apple – manage to keep their prices irrespective of the environment? 

What makes the book Start With Why so read worthy?

Simon dives into human psychology and discusses the two ways to influence human behavior: manipulation and inspiration. Do you manipulate or do you inspire?

“… manipulations can drive a sale but not create loyalty.….. Leadership requires people to stick with you through thick and thin. Leadership is the ability to rally people not for a single event, but for years.[…] It’s in the tough times that loyal customers matter most.”

Simon studied companies and their stories ferociously, and after several years he came up with his concept of ‘The Golden Circle’.  What is the Golden Circle?

“Like the golden ratio, which offers evidence of order in the seeming disorder of nature, The Golden Circle finds order and predictability in human behavior. Put simply, it helps us understand why we do what we do.”

It all comes down to

“People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it!”

And one of the companies that is best in class when it comes to marketing with WHY is definitely Apple. With Apple it’s always clear that they ‘Think different’, regardless of the products they offer.

Nevertheless there is also another important piece to it:

“No matter how clear your WHY, if WHAT you sell doesn’t work, the whole thing falls flat. But a company doesn’t need to have the best products, they just need to be good or very good.”

Here are the main reasons WHY we recommend Simon’s book Start With Why:

• It reveals the difference between leaders who truly inspire and those people who simply manipulate just to get ahead – effective for a short period of time.
• It offers a totally new perspective when it comes to analyzing a business.
• It combines human psychology with business pointing out the behavior that lies behind a very successful marketing campaign.
• Describes a new concept – the Golde Circle – and explains why it’s important to know yourself and your business, understand your customers and act accordingly.
• Offers deep insights into the psychology of different Corporates.
• Not only describes what works in business and what doesn’t but it also points out WHY certain things work while others don’t.

If you want to lift your business and marketing to the next level, this book is a must for you! It will help you generate new ideas, understand your customers and also your reasons for chosing the niche and the business you’re in.

Looking forward to your honest opinion on Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why.