How great leaders inspire action If one day we become leaders, how can we inspire our followers? Because being a leader, we have to take responsibility in many areas. All results must be driven by people. If we cannot inspire or persuade people, or in this case, our subordinates, it will be difficult to succeed.
Around us or the organization we work in, there are often many types of people mixed together. Many times, we receive orders to follow and then there is a conflict in our mind that what the boss ordered does not seem right at all, but we have to endure and do it. But in another situation, why is it that with some people, even though they may not be a person with more authority than us or not even our boss, when they suggest something or ask us to do something, we feel like we agree and want to help and support them fully? This matter may be the answer to the feeling of yes or no that arises in our hearts.
WHY, HOW and WHAT
Simon Sinek, the author of the book “ Start with Why ,” talks about the Golden Circle, three overlapping circles. The outermost one is the question “What,” the second layer is “How,” and finally “Why.” Like the general process of doing something, we are often taught to think about what we will do, how to do it, and why we are doing it. But for Simon, he does not mean results such as profits or stock prices in the market, but the purpose, goal, or purpose that makes us wake up every morning and willing to get up and do those things without hesitation.
“Most organizations start at the easiest point and work their way up to the most obscure point.”
Because answering the question “Why?” is the most ambiguous and difficult thing to do. Most people or organizations tend to start by saying what they will do instead. For example, if APPLE starts by saying that they will make a computer that is easy to use and has a great design, the question is, would we buy it? Let’s remember this feeling first. This is the answer to the question from what (WHAT), how (HOW) to why (WHY)?
“Inspiring leaders and organizations start with the most obscure and come out with the simplest.”
Let’s take APPLE for example. They started by saying that everything they do is because they believe in challenging the old, and they believe in thinking differently. And with that belief, they are able to create products that are beautifully designed and easy to use. It’s the best computer. Does it feel different compared to thinking that starts with the question WHAT? And would we be more interested in buying this presentation? This is answering the question by starting with the hardest thing, WHY? followed by HOW and WHAT.
“People don’t buy because of what we do, they buy because of why we do it.”
This is the reason why APPLE is successful and people buy not only their computers but also their phones, MP3 players, IPADs and other products. Even though their competitors in the market have products that are not different in terms of construction, beauty and quality. Sometimes, if you compare the features of APPLE’s products with the products of competitors, the competitors may even be better at the same price or cheaper. So, let’s start with WHY. WHAT is what is behind the answer to the question starting with WHY that is always clear.
“It’s not marketing psychology, it’s biology.”
If we look at the human brain from above, we will see that the human brain is divided into three parts, which correspond to the Golden Circle. The neocortex is the part that answers the question “WHAT.” This part of the brain is responsible for reasoning, analytical thinking, and language. The two midbrain parts are called the limbic system, which are responsible for all feelings, behavior, and decision-making. Unfortunately, it has no potential for language.
“I don’t know, but I feel like it’s not the right one.”
Giving information about “what we will do first” will be sent to the neocortex because this part understands language. The receiver will understand what we are doing, what are its qualities, how good it is. But the desire to do it will not arise because the part of the brain that affects behavior and decision-making is the limbic system, and it needs a feeling that is strong enough to drive the behavior to follow, or what we call inspiration. Because giving inspiration will make people make decisions more instinctively.
“The formula = enough money, surrounded by smart people, and great marketing.”
Most people know about the Wright brothers, but not about Samuel Pierpont Langley. In the early 20th century, Samuel had what we would consider to be the recipe for success. He had funding from the War Department to invent a flying machine. He knew all the great people of his time. He hired only the best and brightest people to join his team for a large sum of money that he had raised. The market conditions were great at the time and everyone followed his every move. So why does no one know about Samuel now?
“If we hire people just because they can do a job, they will work for our money. But if we hire people who believe in what we believe, they will work for us with all their heart.”
In Dayton, Ohio, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright had nothing close to a winning formula. They had money from a small bicycle shop. No one on the team had a college degree, including themselves. No media paid them any mind. They just had a belief. They believed they could build a machine that could fly. And they passed it on to their team. Every day they went out to experiment, they would go together, carrying five sets of parts, experimenting and experimenting until all five sets were completely broken. Then they would go home for dinner. They shared the joys and sorrows together, and they celebrated their successes together.
“The rules of cultural diffusion”
2.5% of the population will be innovators, 13.5% of the population will be early adopters, 34% will be early adopters, then a large group of early adopters, then a large group of late adopters, and finally the laggards. No matter how much you think you are an open-minded person, we are all in each group, just different things, different times. What the law of diffusion teaches us is that if we want to be successful, we need to penetrate the market and get 15-18% of the market share.
“They don’t buy it because it’s good, they buy it to satisfy their own needs.”
Innovative people are decision-makers driven by their beliefs. They are the ones who wait in line for hours to be the first to experience new innovations that they believe in. They make such an investment because they believe that if they are the first to experience them, others will see them in the light that they want, because they want to be called the first.
“The Story of Martin Luther King”
This is an interesting example that gives us a clear picture. The story of Martin Luther King happened in the summer of 1963. More than 250,000 people gathered to listen to him speak without being invited or even informed of the time. Interestingly, 25% of the people who came that day were white. Why did this happen to him when he was not the best speaker? And he was not the only one who had problems with the inequality in American society at that time (at that time, black people were discriminated against and discriminated against in many ways).
“People don’t come because of what King believes, they come because they believe.”
King just went out into the field to tell people what he believed in. And he never said how he planned to make it happen. But he told people that he had a dream. People who listened had the right to decide whether they believed in the same thing he did. People who believed in the same thing would spread the word. It was like the law of cultural diffusion. So, more than 250,000 people came together to hear him speak at the right place at the right time. The main reason they came together was because not everyone believed in King, but everyone believed in the same thing King did.
Conclusion
In this world, there are two types of leaders. The first type is people in leadership positions. Of course, they have power in their hands. They have great responsibilities and use their power to fulfill their duties. The other type is people who are leaders. For this group of people, it doesn’t matter whether they have power in their hands or not, whether they have a clear position or not, but they are people who can answer the ambiguity clearly by starting with asking “Why”. They can inspire people, whether it’s an individual or an organization. People tend to follow them not because they have to, but because they want to. And we don’t follow them for them, but we follow them for ourselves.
“The goal is not to sell what you do, but to sell what you believe in. Make them believe, not buy.”
How great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek
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