Start With Why by Simon Sinek

Prolix and stylistically awkward armchair argumentation that people are motivated more by an explicit understanding why something is happening, rather than seeing the details and inferring. Sinek never grapples with the issue of leading large groups where not everyone has the same motivation, i.e. why armies are heavy with symbols.

Your time would be better spent contemplating the unreasonable efficacy of the 5 Ws and dominance behavior, prefaced with a survey of mental models.

How many of us can say with certainty that, indeed, an iPod is actually better than Creatives Zen? iPods, for example, are still plagued with battery life and battery replacement issues. They tend to just die. Maybe a Zen is better. The reality is, we dont even care if it is. People dont buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. And it is Apples clarity of WHY that gives them such a remarkable ability to innovate, often competing against companies seemingly more qualified than they, and succeed in industries outside their core business.

In 1994, the year Bethune took over as the newest CEO, the company had lost $600 million and ranked last in every measurable performance category. But all that didnt last long once Bethune arrived. The very next year Continental made $250 million and was soon ranked as one of the best companies to work for in America.

Bethune was very different. He understood that beyond the structure and systems a company is nothing more than a collection of people. You dont lie to your own doctor, he says, and you cant lie to your own employees.

Many reading this may remember that Oprah Winfrey once gave away a free car to every member of her studio audience. It happened several years ago, in 2004, and still people refer to the stunt. But how many can recall the model of car she gave away? Thats the problem. It was Pontiac that donated $7 million worth of cars, 276 of their new G6 model, to be exact. And it was Pontiac that saw the stunt as a way to market their new car. Yet although the stunt worked well to reinforce Oprahs generous nature, something with which we are all familiar, few remember that Pontiac was a part of the event