Ted Talks Review – How Great Leaders Inspire Action
Rated in the top 10 most viewed TED talks in history, Simon Sinek’s ground breaking talk explains how we inspire action. People don’t care what you do, unless they know why!
Sinek refers to the success of Apple. Apple have been selling computer products for decades now and we all know and trust the brand. Their competitors are just as capable at develop- ing the innovative and beautiful products that Apple produce and yet many people always buy Apple. So why is it that when we look at Apple, a computer company that sells us phones, computers, mp3s and much more, we see a company to put our trust in regardless of whether they’re selling something they specialize in or not. Could you image buying a mp3 player from Dell? No! Apple? Of course!
The reasoning behind this is fairly simple. When you look at the greats throughout history, including the great businesses of today, you can see a similarity in the way they sell themselves. Most of us will promote ourselves in that classic way – we tell you what we’re good at and why we’re good at it. It gives all the information we need and it should entice you into buying from us, hiring us or just following us depending on what you’re selling. But it’s nowhere near as effective as using the golden circle.
The golden circle is what major successes throughout history have used to sell themselves. Whether it’s selling products or beliefs, there’s a similarity in the way the biggest names have talked to us. It has less to do with what they’re selling and everything to do with why. People are interested in why you do things not what you do! Sure, we won’t buy something from you just because we like the why,( unless we need it), but we do invest ourselves into things that we believe in a lot more. Taking this back to Apple, they tell us all about the innovation, what they’re aiming for, where they’re going and what they hope to see in the future. It sounds so promising and futuristic and we all love that – we all buy it on a huge scale!
The greatest leaders throughout history, whether they have been politicians, human rights activists or businesspeople have all had one thing in common, they have used their platform to inspire those around them by telling us “the why”, not “the how”. It’s not all about money and votes, it’s about giving people the power to think for themselves and know that they’re with likeminded people. Leaders and inspiration are two things that are easy to come by but rarely combined, it is the combination that truly makes a difference to the mindset of people in general.
