Start With WHY

According to Sinek's concept of WHY, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” Ultimately, this idea can explain why some leaders and organizations are more inspirational than others, even when the “others” create similar products, do similar work, generate similar ideas, and have access to similar resources as leaders in their fields.

To explain his concept of WHY in more detail, Sinek codified his findings into one simple idea: “The Golden Circle.” Pictured below, “this little idea explains why some organizations and some leaders are able to inspire where others aren’t.”

Sinek's definitions:

WHAT: What you do, or what your organization does

HOW: How you do whatever it is that you do, or how you, as a leader or organization, achieve your WHAT

WHY: “Why [you] do what [you] do;” your purpose, or cause; the underlying belief that drives you to “get out of bed in the morning”

In the words of Sinek, every leader and organization know their WHAT, some know their HOW, and few know their WHY. As a result, most tend to communicate from the outside in. But the most inspiring? They “think, act, and communicate from the inside out.” In other words, the most inspiring leaders and organizations are those who start with WHY. To understand what’s behind this phenomenon, you can look to both Sinek and biology.

In his seminal TED Talk, Sinek explains that “the human brain is actually broken into three major components that correlate perfectly with “The Golden Circle.’” The component that correlates with the WHY just so happens to be responsible for human emotion, decision-making, and behavior. This means that when you start with WHY, “[you] are talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behavior, and then [you] allow people to rationalize it with the tangible things [you] say and do.” Thus, to increase your impact, inspire others, differentiate yourself, and deliver your message to the part of the brain that is responsible for behavior and emotion, you have to start with your WHY.

Find Your WHY

Finding your WHY is a process – one that requires you to reflect, detect patterns in your life, and rely on a bit of help from people who know you well. For Sinek's guidance as you navigate this process, check out the key resources below.

• Book: Find Your Why: A Practical Guide For Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team
• YouTube video: “Find Your WHY | Simon Sinek”
• On-demand course: “Find Your WHY with Simon”

Live Your WHY

Once you’ve found your WHY, you’re off to a great start! However, this is just the beginning if you want to increase your confidence, stand out in a crowd, seize opportunities, attract others who believe what you believe, find work environments that inspire you, and “live with purpose on purpose.” To reap these benefits of finding your WHY, you must put your WHY into action. To do so, practice:

• Articulating your WHY with clarity and confidence
• Repeating and reinforcing your WHY every day
• Bringing your WHY to the forefront when you are faced with decisions

If you stick to this, “your WHY will [eventually] act as a filter for many of the decisions and choices you make.” In essence, you’ll be living your WHY. While this is not easy, you’ll succeed if you are vigilant, disciplined, and dedicated. In the end, you’ll know it was worth it when you are “better qualified and more importantly, more confident, to choose the careers, choose the jobs, and find the companies that create environments in which [you] are more likely to be inspired and feel fulfilled.”