Start with Why

How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Simon Sinek
20091029

你的夢想是什麼？你人生的意義是什麼？對你來說，什麼是最重要，絕對不能輕言放棄的？其實，這些問題，都在問，我們的 WHY 是什麼？但是，我們常常會逃避討論或是自問這樣的問題，覺得太嚴肅？覺得那是理想，現實最重要？但其實，真正重要同時也是最根本的問題，就是要先知道我們的 WHY 是什麼？

因為確立自己的 WHY 之後，接著就可以透過 HOW 與 WHAT，來追求並實現自己的 WHY，因為清楚自己的 WHY，所以過著想過的生活，做著想做的工作，和想在一起的人在一起，所有的準則與行為都理直氣壯，因為知道自己的 WHY 是什麼，一切都變得很有意義，即使遇到挫折阻礙也會盡全力克服，每天都過得精神又熱血！

本書不僅啟發個人，更同時啟發組織領導者，可以如何透過 WHY，來成就偉大的企業，這本書，超級推薦！

About This Book

Any person or organization can explain what they do; some can explain how they are different or better; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not about money or profit – those are results. WHY is the thing that inspires us and inspires those around us.

From Martin Luther King Jr. to Steve Jobs to the Wright brothers, Start with Why shows that the leaders who inspire all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way – and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does. Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired – and it all start with WHY.

The Golden Circle

The Golden Circle provides compelling evidence of how much more we can achieve if we remind ourselves to start everything we do by first asking why.

WHAT
Every single company and organization on the planet knows WHAT they do. This is true no matter how big or small, no matter what industry. Everyone is easily able to describe the products or services a company sells or the job function they have within that system. WHATs are easy to identify.

HOW
Some companies and people know HOW they do WHAT they do. Whether you call them a “differentiating value proposition,” “proprietary process” or “unique selling proposition,” HOWs are often given to explain how something is different or better. Not as obvious as WHATs, many think these are the differentiating or motivating factors in a decision. It would be false to assume that’s all that is required.

WHY
Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. It doesn’t mean to make money – that’s a result. It means what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?

Outside in vs. Inside out

• When most organizations or people think, act or communicate they do so from the outside in, from WHAT to WHY. And for good reason – they go from clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. We say WHAT we do, we sometimes say HOW we do it, but we rarely say WHY we do WHAT we do.
• When communicating from the inside out, however, the WHY is offered as the reason to buy and the WHATs serve as the tangible proof of that belief. The things we can point to rationalize or explain the reasons we’re drawn to one product, company or idea over another. People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

Knowing your WHY is not the only way to be successful, but it is the only way to maintain a lasing success and have a greater blend of innovation and flexibility. When a WHY goes fuzzy, it becomes much more difficult to maintain the growth, loyalty and inspiration that helped drive the original success.

Clarity, Discipline and Consistency

Starting with WHY is just the beginning. There is still work to be done before a person or an organization earns the right or ability to inspire. For The Golden Circle to work, each of the pieces must be in balance and in the right order.

1. Clarity of WHY
To inspire starts with the clarity of WHY. You have to know WHY you do WHAT you do. The WHY provides the context for everything else.

2. Discipline of HOW
Once you know WHY you do what you do, the question is HOW will you do it? HOWs are your values or principles that guide HOW to bring your cause to life. Understanding HOW you do things and, more importantly, having the discipline to hold the organization and all its employees accountable to those guiding principles enhances an organization’s ability to work to its natural strengths. Understanding HOW gives greater ability, for example, to hire people or find partners who will naturally thrive when working with you.

3. Consistency of WHAT
Everything you say and everything you do has to prove what you believe. A WHY is just a belief. That’s all it is. HOWs are the actions you take to realize that belief. And WHATs are the results of those actions – everything you say and do. The only way people will know what you believe is by the things you say and do, and if you’re not consistent in the things you say and do, no one will know what you believe.