Simon Sinek

Last week I stumbled upon Simon Sinek. Simon Sinek is the best speaker I have seen. The way he tells stories, his gestures, how he structures his presentation and changes his tone of voice is remarkable.

Funnily the first video I saw with him was not a talk, but an interview — and in hindsight his least interesting appearance in my opinion. (He talked about why companies apparently think that millennials are tough to manage¹)

In his own words he describes himself as an idealistic preacher, who wants to inspire people with his ideas, so that everyone can find fulfilment in the work they do.

Here are 5 things I took away from his presentations:

#1. Start with Why

Very few people or organisations know why they do, what they do. What’s your purpose, cause or believe?

#2. Fulfilment comes from helping others

The human body is biologically designed to get us to look after each other.

#3. Leadership is willing to sacrifice for others

Your willingness to sacrifice for someone is what makes you a leader — not authority.

(See talk above from point 2)

#4. Everything you do is a signal to others about who you are

Say and do the things you actually believe.

#5. Show up to give

When giving a talk, show up with a giving mentality. Make it about the audience.

Start with a story, that captures the idea you are going to be presenting about.

Alright, that was my highlight from last week. I might take one of the talks and put it on my favourite talks collection.

I got sick last Friday and still am, so my first weekly post got a little delayed. 🤒 Sorry about that!

By the way I haven’t decided yet on which day and at which time I publish my weekly posts. Maybe they will get their own section, too. We’ll see.

Stay healthy and see you next week!