Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers — and as a counterpoint Tivo, which (until a recent court victory that tripled its stock price) appeared to be struggling. (Recorded at TEDxPuget Sound, September 2009 in Puget Sound, WA. Duration: 16:47)
Watch Simon Sinek’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 600+ TEDTalks.
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Emily Merkle commented on Feb 6 2011
ouch. i hope you paid people for sitting still that long.
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charlie kodatt commented on Dec 24 2010
Greatness. I have watched it 5x already. Keep up the greatness.
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Shimon Shmueli commented on Aug 10 2010
I thought that the Why is the same as the vision statement taught at MBA programs for ever. Anyway, good talk and thanks for the reminder that organizations do need it and indeed it needs to be “real” (whatever that means) and not a result of a 2 hours executive brainstorming session.
commented on Aug 6 2010
Very cool. Thanks Simon
Elliott Hedman commented on Jun 27 2010
I hope to follow Simon’s words in my own life. With that said, I don’t know how much of WHAT he says is truth, but I know I WANT to believe it! The example I am struggling with: I am part of the reluctant group that refused to buy a mac – it’s an expensive trend for me. I finally chose to buy one when my Dell computer kept giving me the blue screen of death and my friend’s mac was flawless. I bough a mac purely for the end result, not the company’s beliefs. With that said, I understand how the companies beliefs created that final product that I am typing on now.
Jeremy Ward commented on Mar 8 2012
That’s because you are part of the late majority. Only the innovators and early adopters are inspired by the why, but once you get to the tipping point, the early majority buy because others have tried it first. Check it out, Simon talks about it at .
Chuck Miller commented on May 5 2010
Great talk – informative and clears the mind to better solutions.
Wang Guowei commented on Jan 27 2012
Great talk-why,how,what
onehourpoint onehourpoint commented on Oct 12 2012
VERY inspiring, but this guy is an idiot.
DOES TED NOT FACT CHECK THEIR SPEAKERS??????!!!!!
He should check wikipedia before making his statements. ALL of his examples are factually wrong. As in:
- March on Washington
@15:33 he says “they sent out no invitations”… What the f**k?
A quick check on wikipedia would have taught this guy that it was, I quote “The march was organized by a group of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations”.
Don’t you think they did everything they could in terms of organizing and letting people know??!!!
- Tivo failed commercially because people were afraid to use it?!!!! How about because Cable and Satellite companies started to offer their own devices, and were able to undercut Tivo, who didnt have the direct to consumer access that these companies enjoyed?
What he says is great. Inspiring. But backing it up with lies is a TERRIBLE disservice to his ideas.
Jeremy Ward commented on Oct 18 2012
You quoted Wikipedia to discredit one of the best business minds on TED…. Serious?? Wikipedia? … but even if you were a scholar of American Civil Rights, it wouldn’t matter, you missed the point. It doesn’t matter how the March on Washington was organized, he is talking about why people chose to passionately follow Dr. King.
You’re also missing the point about Tivo. Yes, sales channels are important, but they sold the Tivo based on what it could do… Not why they built it, which does not develop an aspirational group of early adopters.