Inspiring Action

Simon Sinek, author of the book Start With Why, is a marketing consultant known for developing "The Golden Circle," a model based on human decision-making that guides organizations on how to inspire people to buy or support any product, company or idea.


To learn firsthand about this concept, please view the short video.


The Golden Circle is an interesting way to look at how people think. Sinek states that most people think conventionally; from outside in, or from What to How to Why. Sinek proposes that thinking inside-out, is not only unconventional, but can produce remarkable results.


In his video, Sinek provides the examples of Apple and Martin Luther King to explain his theory. From a leadership perspective, what exactly does this mean?


From the conventional view (outside - in), here is an example. The boss comes down and states he just got an order for 1000 widgets. He tells his team that they need to build these by the end of the week. This order must be on time, or the company will lose a big profit. That is not very motivating, especially to the employees who already may be overworked.


Here is the example from the inside-out. The boss comes down and says, "You all do such great work and the quality of our product has really garnered a lot of positive attention. We just got an order in from one of our best customers and they are really counting on us to deliver this order on time." Do you see the difference?


In the Golden Circle, the Why is the purpose/cause/belief; the reason why we get out of bed each day; the reason why anyone should care.


I believe most inspired leaders I have encountered follow this line of thinking without thinking about it. They believe in the cause or purpose of their mission.


Sinek says, "People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it." He also believes the Golden Circle is ingrained in us biologically. He cited that if you take a cross section of a human brain, there are three major areas; the outer area is the Neocortex (the What) that is responsible for rational and analytical thought and language. The inner two regions are called the Limbic brain, which controls feelings (the Why), like trust and loyalty; human behavior and decision making.


Sinek says, "If you talk about what you believe, you will attract those who believe what you believe. People who believe you will take your cause as their own." If every leader had followers that did this, life would be easy. However, as we know, it takes a lot of effort to inspire followers. "We follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to;" says Sinek, "not for them, but ourselves."


When a person is inspired as to the reason why they are doing something or understand the mission, they gain a sense of belonging or being part of the team, from which they gain their sense of importance to the team.


The Golden Circle is an interesting marketing tool that seems quite effective, which very much applies in the leadership world.