EFFECTIVE & ENGAGING BOOK SUMMARIES

VISUAL BOOK SUMMARY

Have you ever wondered how great leaders become great? What is the secret sauce they have that makes them
stand-out and command the attention and respect of thousands, no, millions of followers? What is it that great
business leaders have that creates the Midas touch and turns everything into gold? Join us for the next ten
minutes as we share the secrets of how great leaders inspire everyone to take action and with the help of Simon
Sinek understand why we should Start with WHY.

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IPOpartyshades

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IDEACODE:
EFFECTIVE & ENGAGING BOOK SUMMARIES

CIAFBI
The Readitfor.me IdeaCode is a shorthand system
to help you memorize the core concepts, so you
can quickly apply them in any situation.

C: Carrots not Sticks. Inspire your

customers rather than manipulate them.

I: Intangible Whys: Focus your message

more on intangible feelings rather than
things you can point to.

F: Followers Know Why: Followers will align

to leaders with whom they share a common
WHY.

A: Align to One: Focus your WHYs on

individual customers make sure they feel
your products are specifically for them.

B: Belonging Feels Right: Belonging to a

group with a shared WHY creates a greater
commitment and understanding.

I: Inactive Values dont Work: Values stated

as nouns are inactive. Values stated as verbs
drive companies forward.

Lesson #1: Inspirational

Carrots
Despit
e the m
influence

ultiple
ways i
nw

human b

hich w
e

can co

mmun

icate w
ith eac
h othe
anipulate
r, there
it or you
are e
c
an inspire
incentives oere
ectivel
it. When
d to us as consu
y only
we look a
mers: price drop
t the num two ways
s, special short te
to
ber
rm promotions,
using fear as a trof dierent
igger, peer
pressure or even aspirational messages, when we drill down, in all cases we are being manipulated. We are being
ens everywhere,
pp
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ick decision for the be
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ase, a
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Or you can inspire. Great leaders are able to

create a following of people who act not
because they were manipulated, but because
they were inspired. For those who are inspired,
the motivation to act is deeply personal. They
are less likely to be swayed by incentives so no
need for parallel manipulations. Those who are
inspired are willing to pay a premium, endure
inconvenience or even personal suering
(queuing in the rain for the latest gizmo?). Those
who are able to inspire will create a following of
peoplesupporters, voters, customers, workers
who act for the good of the whole not
because they have to, but because they want to.
So forget the manipulative stick, lets stick to the
inspirational carrot.

Lesson #2:
3 little words:
What, How & Why

Eve
ry
kno comp
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ws W
and
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iz
do.
Tha ation o
ts e
asy n the p
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The
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ur m
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WHAT?
At a more detailed level, some companies and people know HOW they do WHAT they do. HOWs are often given to explain how
something is dierent or better. Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. WHY does your
company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care? WHYs are intangible. Because
focussing on the WHATs and HOWs is easier, most businesses use language associated with WHATs and HOWs to promote their
products and services. Lets consider Apple. If Apple were like most companies, using WHATs and HOWs, their marketing message
may sound something like this: We make great computers. Theyre beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly want to
buy one?But that is not what Apple does, nor do inspiring leaders and organizations. Every one of them, regardless of size or
industry, thinks, starts with a WHY.

HOW?

WHY?

Lets look at that Apple example again and rewrite the example in the order Apple actually communicates
the WHY way: Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking
dierently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to
use and user friendly want to buy one? Notice the dierence? Its a completely dierent message.
Apple doesnt simply reverse the order of the WHAT information, their message starts with WHY, a
purpose, cause or belief that has nothing to do with WHAT they do. WHAT they dothe products they
make, from computers to small electronicsno longer serves as the reason to buy, they serve as the
tangible proof of their cause.
People dont buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

Ill

  look

  smarter

I

  deserve

  it

Its

  my

  style

What

  a

  deal!

Sexy!

My

  kids

  will

  respect

  me

If a customer feels inspired to buy

a product, rather than feeling
manipulated, they will be able to
verbalize the reasons why they
think what they bought is better
than its alternatives. In reality, their
purchase decision and their
loyalty are deeply personal. So
what should a company do?
Instead of asking, WHAT should
we do to compete? the questions
must be asked, WHY did we start
doing WHAT were doing in the
first place, and WHAT can we do
to bring our cause to life?
Tighter

  butt

Lesson #3:
Defuzzing Why

Looking again at Apple, their

advertising and communications,
their products, their partnerships,
their packaging, their store
design: they are all WHATs to
Apples WHY, proof that they
actively challenge status quo
thinking to empower the
individual. Ever notice that
Apples advertising never shows
groups enjoying their products?
Always individuals. Their Think
Dierent campaign depicted
individuals who thought
dierently, never groups. Always
individuals. This is no accident.
Empowering the individual spirit
is WHY Apple exists.

uzzy
f
a
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Lesson 4: Followers choose to follow.

In the summer of 1963, a quarter of a million people showed up in front of Abraham Lincoln to hear Martin
Luther King Jr. deliver his I Have a Dream speech. But how many people showed up for Dr. King? Very few.
They showed up for themselves. He had identified a WHY that others took up as their own. A WHY that included
a vision, values and beliefs that matched their own. Alignment of intangibles. People followed him not because
of his idea of a changed America. People followed him because of their idea of a changed America. Dr. King
oered America a place to go, not a plan to follow.

Ernest Shackleton,
a renowned and inspirational
leader who never achieved what
he set out to do get to the South
Pole demonstrated the same
skills. When Shackleton appealed
for crew to join him on his fateful
expedition he did not define a list
of appropriate skills. He identified
a WHY of his own and sought
followers. The advertisement read:
Men wanted for hazardous
journey. Small wages, bitter cold,
long months of complete
darkness, constant danger, safe
return doubtful. Honour and
recognition in case of success.
Shackleton hired only people who
believed what he believed. Their
ability to survive was guaranteed.
When employees belong, they will
guarantee your success.

Lesson 5:

Followers need to belong.

The Sneetches in Dr. Seusss famous picture
book, star-bellied or otherwise, perfectly
capture a very basic human need, the need to
belong. Their desire to be part of the bigger
group had them embellishing their bodies with
a common marque. Our need to belong is not
rational, but it is a constant that exists across
all people in all cultures. It is a feeling we get
when those around us share our values and
beliefs. When we feel like we belong we feel
connected and we feel safe. As humans we
crave the feeling and we seek it out. No matter
where we go, we trust those with whom we
are able to perceive common values or beliefs.

Harley Davidson are experts in fulfilling this need. Through

the HOGS the owner groups the riders WHYs truly align
to that of the company to the extent that, like Sneetches,
many go for permanent body art, tattooing the company
logo on their arms (or other body parts!). Our natural
need to belong also makes us good at spotting
things that dont belong. Its a sense we get.
A feeling. Something deep inside us,
something we cant put into words,
allows us to feel how some things
just fit and some
things just dont.
Dell selling mp3
players just doesnt
feel right because Dell defines itself as
a computer company, so the only things
that belong are computers. We are
drawn to leaders and organizations
that make us feel like we belong.
To make us feel special, safe
and not alone is part of what
gives them the ability to
inspire us.

Ve!ly in

p
cra

WE BELIEVE

Integ!ty

Innovation
Honesty

Communication

hole

hea"edly

Lesson 6: Verbalise your values.

Once you know WHY you do what you do, the question is how
will you do it? What are the values or principles that will guide
how to bring your cause to life? How we do things and, more
importantly, having a discipline to hold our organization and
our employees accountable to the chosen guiding principles
enhances our ability to work to our natural strengths.

Verb it, baby

But we dont make it easy. We remind ourselves of our values

by writing them on the wall as nouns. Integrity. Honesty.
Innovation. Communication. Nouns are not actionable. They
are things. You cant build systems or develop incentives
around those things. Its nearly impossible to hold people
accountable to nouns.
If your WHYs and their WHY correspond, then they will see your
products and services as tangible ways to prove what they
believe. When WHY, HOW, and WHAT are in balance,
authenticity is achieved and the buyer feels fulfilled.

A company is a culture. A group

of people brought together
around a common set of values
and beliefs. Its not products or
services that bind a company
together. Its not size and might
that make a company strong, its
the culturethe strong sense of
beliefs and values that everyone,
from the CEO to the receptionist,
all share.
When people inside the
company know why they come
to work, people outside the
company are more likely to
understand why the company is
special. In these organizations,
from the management down, no
one sees themselves as any
more or any less than anyone
else. They all need each other.

t
i
g
n
i
Bring

:
r
e
h
toget

ENERGY
EXCITES
CHARIMSA
INSPIRES

Great organizations become great because the

people inside the organization feel protected.
The strong sense of culture creates a sense of
belonging and acts like a net. People come to
work knowing that their bosses, colleagues and
the organization as a whole will look out for
them. This results in reciprocal behaviour.
The role of a leader is not to come up with all
the great ideas. The role of a leader is to create
an environment in which great ideas can
happen. To be charismatic and inspirational.
Energy excites but charisma inspires. Energy is
easy to see, easy to measure and easy to copy.
Charisma is hard to define, near impossible to
measure and too elusive to copy.
Charisma has nothing to do with energy; it
comes from a clarity of WHY. It comes from
commitment to an ideal bigger than yourself.
Energy can always be injected into an
organization to motivate people to do things.
Bonuses, promotions, other carrots and even a
few sticks can get people to work harder, for
sure, but the gains are, like all manipulations,
short-lived.

Great leaders start from why,

have an inspirational story to
tell, bring others who share their
belief together and through how
and what help individuals fulfill
their own whys.

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