Simon Sinek on Why Greatness Starts and Ends With Passion

In Chapter 13 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares what performing artists have taught him about preparation, process, and passion. Sinek finds passion matters on the bookends. It starts things. It is the process, or preparation, where people differentiate, develop, and ascend as individuals and as work - or art - creators. This process is where individuals accept and embrace technical capacity and open themselves to failure and the willingness to learn from and iterate upon it. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What has your passion for the performing arts taught you about the power of preparation?

Simon Sinek: There is something magical about somebody, an artist, who is willing to put himself out there, to share with am audience, to share with the world, something that they have created. And there is the very high possibility of failure, that it won’t be good. And if any component doesn’t work it can affect the thing as a whole. Um, preparation is interesting. I’m a great believer in process, to a degree. 

Which is – you have to be good at what you’re doing, and you have to understand your own discipline and have a technical grounding, but that’s not where it ends. I think where passion matters is on the bookends. You know, people start things because they’re passionate, you know? “I was passionate about this so I decided to start my own business,” or, “I was passionate about this so I started to take classes.” Passion’s what gets things started. 

And then it’s that process, it’s that preparation that you become understanding of, where it becomes intellectualized, that thing that you like, and that’s where I think most people fall down. “Oh my goodness there’s a lot of work here,” you know? So that usually ends that “passion” pretty quickly, or they get stuck in there, where it becomes only learning and only thinking. And really, there’s a point at which you have to say, “okay, you know what? I know how to do this; I’m good at this. I have to trust that I’m good at this, I have to trust the training and now I’m gonna go back to that passion again.” 

And those are the few who are able to truly catapult themselves, or their work, to this new level where we say it’s great, not just good. Because they’ve allowed themselves to now accept the technical capacity and leave themselves open to the potential for making mistakes again. Children have passion and they’re beautiful to watch, and they make a total mess. And these few here, they kind of have a childish way about them, they kind of act like children in some way, where it’s a little bit reckless abandon but for the fact that they have training and grounding and preparation. And I think those – that’s a beautiful thing to pursue. It’s a hard thing to do, because now that you’re technically based and you have an understanding, are you willing to fail? Yes here, because you don’t know anything [taps table] and yes here if you can be great.

Simon Sinek on What the Military Teaches About the Importance of Planning

In Chapter 12 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares what working with the military, including the Air Force, has taught him about planning. Specifically, Sinek learns planning is much more valuable as a process than as an event. He paraphrases President Dwight Eisenhower's statement "In preparation for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." Sinek learns plans too often go wrong but the process of planning creates more responsive reaction and problem solving in the face of adversity and uncertainty. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What have you learned about planning from the military?

Simon Sinek: One of the things that I think is very interesting, the difference between at least the Air Force, and -- and the military at large – and the private sector, is “planning” quote, un-quote, is something that happens in businesses either once a year – it’s either you know, your annual strategic whatever -- or when something goes wrong. We have to have planning sessions. And that’s pretty much the only time there’s planning, right? In reaction to something, or this prescribed annual event.

In the military, and in the Air Force, they’re constantly, constantly, constantly planning. And they will produce thousands of plans a year of which only maybe a few hundred will get implemented. And, you know, Dwight Eisenhower said a long time ago – and I never understood what he meant until recently – when he said, “planning is everything; the plan is nothing.” And basically what that means is the plan is irrelevant the minute you try to implement it because your competition, the enemy, whoever it is, they’re not following your plan, you know? And your plan will go wrong almost as soon as it’s implemented.

And it’s this constant process of planning. That it’s not the plan, per se, but it’s the process of planning, that if something does go wrong, you can react to it. One of the interesting practical applications for this was the housing crisis, the economic crisis. Which was, the actuaries had figured out that there was a 99 percent chance of success for this mortgage-backed security thing. And they thought, “oh my god we’re all gonna get rich, let’s do this thing” and they did, and we all know exactly what happened. The problem is there was no plan for that one percent that happened, which is the housing market collapsed. There was no plan ever developed or thought about if the one percent were to happen.

In the military, I can promise you, they would have thought about that opportunity, if that – “what would … how would we react if that happens?” Um, and panic is what ensued and nobody knew the answer, and things collapsed, and banks collapsed, and people lost money because there was no plan. And now the planning began and we’re still digging ourselves out of the hole, only because planning was an event and not a process.

Simon Sinek on How Civilian Finds Fulfillment Working For Military

In Chapter 11 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares how he has found lasting fulfillment working with the United States government and military. Interfacing with committed individuals dedicated to defending, protecting, and serving the country offers Sinek a personal impression that changes his life. He recounts a story engaging a wounded warrior at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany and offering a "Token of Inspiration". Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What do you find most fulfilling about working with military and government to serve your country?

Simon Sinek: Look, these are people who show up to work, and who decided to do that for a living, decided to do that with their lives, not to get rich. When I get to speak to, or work with the military, or those in government, not a single person there showed up to get rich. None of them, zero. Whether they become disillusioned or not within their careers is a different story, but they showed up with a desire to serve their country. And to be able to give them anything that helps them be better at their jobs, that helps them be better at protecting the country or helping develop better healthcare, it doesn’t matter, is perhaps the most fulfilling work I do. If all I did was get to work with government and military for the rest of my life I would be extremely happy. It’s an amazing feeling to do something that matters. 

Erik Michielsen: When was the first time you felt that way?

Simon Sinek: The first time I felt that way … I got to go to the Pentagon for the first time a few years ago. And just walking the halls, you’re pretty struck by it, you know? And I think D.C. as a town does that as well, but they also deal in power. But when you go, when you walk the halls of the Pentagon and you all these people walking around in various uniforms who have committed their lives to a life of service, it’s pretty humbling, it’s pretty humbling. 

Erik Michielsen: Last year, you had a chance to speak to a large group in Germany. Tell me more about that.

Simon Sinek: Last year, I got to visit Ramstein Air Force base, Spangdahlem Air Force base and Aviano Air Force base in Italy. And over the course of my week with them, I spoke to thousands of troops. One room alone was close to a thousand. It was amazing. But perhaps the most powerful and moving experience I had was at Ramstein. One of the things that Ramstein serves as is the sort of stopping point to the Middle East. Most of the troops and material going to Afghanistan or Iraq or coming back go through Ramstein. 

So it’s a pretty busy, big base.  And one of the missions is to return home the wounded warriors who are brought to Germany for treatment in the hospitals there, and when they can come home they will bring those wounded warriors home. And part of my tour was to go through the facility where they – sort of the weigh station as they sort of were taken out to the plane – and so we were taken around there and shown the facility. And then we went out onto the flight line where we saw a C17, which is a big Air Force cargo plane configured to bring wounded warriors home. You know they had bunks and they had medical equipment in there, and they loaded up say about 15 to 20 wounded warriors – some who were ambulatory and some were carried on stretchers. 

My job was to stand there and observe, that was my job. And I couldn’t, it was incredibly powerful, and I stepped forward without asking permission and went to each one of them and said the exact same thing. I said, “I’m visiting from back home, I’m a civilian, and I just want to say thank you for what you do for us.” And I paid them a token of inspiration, which are these tokens I carry with me. And I paid each of them and I said the exact same thing to each of them: “My name is Simon, I’m a civilian from back home and I just want to say thank you to you guys for what you do for us” and I pay them a token. 

And there was this one young guy who was lying on a stretcher, who was under a blanket strapped in. He had a tube hanging out of every orifice, oxygen over his mouth, and I turned to him and he sort of looked over to me from his stretcher, and I said the same thing, “My name is Simon, I’m a civilian, I’m from back home and I just wanted to pay you this token of inspiration to say thank you to you for what you do for us.” And I held up the token and I said, “I’ll give it to somebody else to hold for you for when you get back home.” Because clearly he was under this blanket in this stretcher all strapped in, and a hand came out of the side of this blanket, right? And I put the token in his hand, right? And he grips it tight, right? And puts his hand back in the blanket. And we never spoke a word, and of course I was, you know, bawling. 

And I learned something that day, I mean, that day changed me.  You know? I don’t have much of a right to complain about my bad days, you know? And even when I was there that week, I remember the jet lag hit me very hard and I’d be falling asleep at dinners and they kept asking me to do more and more and more stuff. And the old me would have said, “you know I’m gonna decline I have to take a rest.” And, I said yes to absolutely everything and pushed my way through all of it. And you know, you meet these young men and women who are willing to put themselves in harm’s way for no other reason than they believe in something bigger than themselves, and you get to meet them. It’s, uh, it changes you. It changes you.

Simon Sinek on How Childhood Influences Cultural Anthropology Research Career

In Chapter 10 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares how his childhood and education have shaped his approach to cultural anthropology, ethnography, and research. Sinek believes research should be done away from focus groups and in the field, especially in uncomfortable environments. His curiosity turns discomfort into a motivating factor he uses to better understand his subjects. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: How has your anthropology background proven helpful working in unfamiliar environments, including with the United States military?

Simon Sinek: Being trained as an ethnographer being trained and sort of having this cultural anthropology background, significantly changes the way of how I do my work, or being in strange or different situations. This is why I’m against focus groups. I think the concept of a focus group is laughable. That you bring people in to a sterile research environment, so that the researcher can be comfortable and safe and happy, but the respondents – the people who you want to be open and honest – are the ones who are uncomfortable and on-edge, that’s backwards to me. 

It’s the responsibility of the researcher to go to the respondents. It’s the responsibility of the researcher to go into the environment, into the homes, into the societies, into the buildings, into the offices of the people that they want to study and understand. It’s the responsibility of the researcher to deal with the discomfort, rather than forcing the respondent to be uncomfortable. 

So that’s how I was raised, both academically, and also that’s how I was actually raised. I lived all over the world. As a kid, we traveled around a lot, and so I will always go to somebody if I’m interested in them, and I believe they are the ones who should be comfortable and I’m the one who should be uncomfortable. That’s correct, because that way you get the best answers. And so, because that’s how I’ve always done things, I have no problem going to very unfamiliar environments. For me it’s an object of curiosity, if I’m uncomfortable I want to understand what’s making me uncomfortable and I think that’s kind of cool.

Simon Sinek on What Makes the United States Air Force So Innovative

In Chapter 9 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares what he has learned about open-mindedness and innovation by working with the United States Air Force (USAF). Sinek finds the USAF has created a culture of innovation by encouraging its people to be open-minded thinkers constantly seeking to improve how things work. This openness allows the Air Force to look at different perspectives, including outsider opinions from individuals such as Sinek. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What has working with the Air Force taught you about open-mindedness?

Simon Sinek: They are perhaps the most innovative organization on the planet. If you think about most big corporations – corporations who have significantly contributed to the innovations in our society – most of that have actually contributed one, at best two, things.  Microsoft: Windows, that changed the world. The other stuff? Good stuff … World changing? Wouldn’t go that far. You know? One. One. Apple: Maybe two things in there, you know? The graphic user interface, they didn’t really invent it but they perfected it, you know? So most corporations who develop something big do one thing. Now let’s look at the Air Force. The reason that we have commercial flight came out of military, you know? I mean the mil - the Air Force, or the Army air corps really propelled that industry. Anti-lock breaks, GPS, you know, all of this stuff … Satellite communications … Cell phones, hello?

And all of this stuff came out of the Air Force. And one of the reasons they are so innovative is that they have open minds. They’re constantly looking for better ways to do things, you know? Where they say that every Marine is a rifleman, absolutely every airman is an innovator. That’s just the way they’re wired. And because of that, they are so curious, and so interested in what outsiders have to say. The other armed forces – and most corporations, let’s be honest – they’re much harder to get in, you know? They like to protect themselves, and it’s hard to get in the door. The Air Force, they’re constantly looking, they’re constantly open, they’re constantly curious. It’s not an accident that they found me, because here I am a guy with unusual perspective and they were interested in it. If you want to find new and better ways of doing things, you have to look to other people, ask other people and just get outside opinions. It just goes with the territory.

Simon Sinek on How to Avoid Useless Innovation and Solve Human Problems

In Chapter 8 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares his favorite definition of innovation - the application of technology to solve human problems. He highlights several product advancements that do not answer human problems, causing a breakdown in innovation thinking. He uses a toaster as an example of useful innovation that meets his criteria: the application of technology to solve human problems. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: How do you define innovation?

Simon Sinek: Well, I mean a definition I like is the application of technology to solve human problems. I know that not all innovation is about technology. I know that, but I like that, if we have a very broad definition of innovation.

Erik Michielsen: Why does that register so well with you?

Simon Sinek: Because the important part, to me, is the solving of human problems. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do something. And I think, especially in the technology world, we become obsessed with the fact that we can, not that we should. And we call “innovation” where it’s really nonsense. I mean for example, do you remember when if you wanted to watch – if you needed a projector – you used to pull the string down to get the screen down.

Like, what problem were they solving getting rid of the string? You know now everything has a button. And by the way, those buttons and those motors break all the time. I don’t ever recall that string being a problem. And yet we feel the need because we can put motors on buttons on things, that we should put a motor and button on that. It’s like, you look at a Toyota Prius, and everything is touch screen. So if you’re following the GPS and your phone rings, you lose the GPS! Or, if you want to change the temperature, you know, or if you wanna – you have to take four screens – what happened with knobs and buttons? Like, what’s wrong with turning up your volume like this, for your radio? Like, what human problem are we solving? The answer is we’re not solving any human problems. That’s the problem with that kind of technology. It’s pointless.

One of the best pieces of innovation I’ve seen lately is my toaster, which is – and I bought my toaster specifically for this feature – which is, you push a toaster down to make it toast and then it pops up. In my toaster, you can lift the button up and it lifts the toast out so you don’t have to go picking it out with a fork or a knife. That’s innovation! That’s the application of some sort of technology, or engineering in this case, to solve a human problem. And, uh, I think just because we can do things, whether engineers or technologists, or on the Internet, doesn’t mean that we necessarily should. And if you have the capacity to do something big make sure you’re solving a real problem that exists, not something that doesn’t. [Erik laughs] I have more respect for my toaster than I do a Toyota Prius.

Simon Sinek on Why to Consider Outsider Opinions When Planning Strategy

In Chapter 7 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares why he feels outsider opinions add value to strategic planning efforts. Sinek finds his own ideas by comparing and contrasting things that do not connect across government, politics, military, big business, small business, and non-profit. The experience takeaways Sinek gathers working across these industries allows him to learn and hone his own style of outsider expertise he then applies on client projects such as RAND Corporation. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: Why is it important to consider outsider opinions when planning strategy?

Simon Sinek: Oh, I mean working as an outsider or working with an outsider, they have perspective that you don’t have. I don’t think this is a revelation, you know I get to work with the Rand Corporation, which is the largest think tank in the world … one of the most prestigious think tanks in the world. And, you know I don’t have half, or even a quarter or even an eighth of the credentials of some of the people who work at Rand or who I work with. The thing they value from me – and they say this to me – is I have a perspective unlike theirs, and I raise questions and I see things that they can’t see. That they don’t see. And that is the value of an outsider. 

Erik Michielsen: Did your perception of that kind of outsider influence change at all once you started working with Rand or has that been something that’s always been constant in all of your work? 

Simon Sinek: I’m a great believer of looking outside; I mean all of my ideas come from comparing and contrasting things that don’t connect. I mean, the fact that I get to work in government and politics and military and big business and small business and non-profit … I learn something over here that I realize could solve a problem over here. And it is that breadth, that broad view, that I specifically take that specifically contributes to what I’m able to bring to all the others. And it’s amazing because they think that I’m an expert in their industry, and the answer is I actually learned it from somebody else. And that happens all the time.

Simon Sinek on Why to Wait Before Making an Emotional Decision

In Chapter 6 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares how he manages his emotions when making decisions. In short, Sinek takes a pause to temper a potential emotional reaction. He finds asking "what good will come of this?" helps him understand where and when to respond. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: Where do you find balance between being overly emotional and removing emotion entirely when making a decision?

Simon Sinek: We all make decisions based on an emotional reaction, not necessarily using the emotion of our gut, you know? It’s sort of the naughty step, as Nanny Jo, Super Nanny Jo Fraust, you know, developed, I think has great value to us as adults as well, to just to sort of take a break and cool off, you know, when somebody sends you a rude email, don’t reply back immediately. Wait, and 99 times out of 100 you’ll go back and read it later, you’ll be like “yeah, whatever.” But, you won’t get all flustered. Or write the response but don’t hit send, you know, if you want to have the venting, you know, don’t hit send and maybe come back to it later. 

And I’m a great believer in tempering that emotional reaction.  I play a little game with myself – which is, before I make a decision, I ask myself um, “what good will come of this?” because I only want to make decisions where good will come of my decisions, right? And so you realize so often – I got an email once from somebody who, who wanted something from me, and I’d been trying to reach out to them for months for a small favor and I got nothing, I got a cold shoulder, and now all of a sudden, “wishing you well, I heard you had a book come out, congratulations… oh and by the way.” You know? 

And so of course, how do I reply? You know, I could be like “how dare you?” You know? So I ask myself, “What good will come of this?” And the answer was, if I send something mean, what good will come of that? Nothing, I’ll just inflame something. If I send something nice, what good will come of it? Nothing there either, because it’s artificial, you know, I’m not being genuine. And so I ended up sending nothing at all. I couldn’t make a decision; I couldn’t do something where something good will happen, so I did nothing. So I – with as many decisions as I can I ask myself “what good will come of this?” before I make the decision, because if my decisions can’t make good, then I shouldn’t make them at all.

Simon Sinek on Why to Use Momentum to Define and Measure Career Success

In Chapter 5 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares why momentum, not results, is how he measures success. He notes how success is something everyone pursues but few can measure and define. Sinek is less concerned with financial or lifestyle markers as success measurements and more about momentum, and seeing things start and begin to roll by themselves. He compares this to a rolling stone that gathers no moss and layers his purpose to keep that initiative moving. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen:  Why is momentum fundamental in measuring and understanding success?

Simon Sinek: Success is an elusive thing, right? What is it? And I think it’s very interesting, that if most people can’t define success – “well it means you made x amount of dollars,” or - but if you make x amount of dollars but you spend more, are you successful? Or “well it means you come home happy everyday” Okay, how do you know you’re happy, you know? Uh, so, I think success is a funny thing, which is, we all seem to pursue it but we don’t know how to measure it or actually how to define it. 

So how do you pursue something that you can’t measure? Fascinating. So, when people say to me “how do you measure success?’ The a question we all have to ask ourselves, “Am I successful?” I don’t know, I mean, I had a good year last year, uh, and what does that mean? Does that mean I made a lot of money? Does that mean I was really happy? I’ll let you decide, right? Maybe neither, maybe both. I had a good year last year, but am I successful? And the answer is no, I don’t feel I am, because I am trying to build a world that doesn’t exist yet. I’m trying to build a world in which 90 percent of the people go home at the end of the day feeling fulfilled by the work that they do. So I definitely took a step – a big step towards that goal but I’m still so far away. So somebody said to me, “then how do you know if you’re successful?” And the answer is, if it can go by itself. 

And so what is more interesting to me as a measurement of success, it’s not the markers per se, it’s not the financial goal, or the size of the house that you want to buy, those are nice things. Go for it, but those, those are not measurements of success, those are just nice things to collect along the way. For me, it’s momentum, I want a measure of momentum, which is – you know – when something is moving and you start to see it lose momentum, you’re like, “uh oh, give it a push,” because if you don’t give it a push it’s gonna stop. And an object in stasis is much harder to get going. It requires a lot more energy to get something started than it does to keep it going, right? 

And so, if you don’t let it stop and you can keep it going – you know it still might slow down there but you can get it going again much easier. And for me the opportunity is to get the ball rolling faster and faster and faster and faster and bigger and bigger; it’s like a snowball. And my responsibility is – because it’s not going down hill yet, it’s not on automatic yet – I need to still keep it going, to find that critical mass where it can go ‘Psssshh.’ 

And at the point it can go by itself without me, I need to find something else to do. And that may not happen in my lifetime. I think we must all stop measuring promotions, salaries, and these things, but rather measure the momentum of my career. “Does my career have momentum? Can I see it moving in the right direction? Can I see it gathering moss?” You know? “Can I see that’s it’s easier, becoming easier for me to keep the momentum? It’s becoming easier for me to grow, the size of this thing, it’s requiring less effort.” That’s the thing that we need to measure. That’s the thing that we need to be cognizant of, which is the momentum of our careers, not just the markers that we think define our success.

Simon Sinek on How Setting Unrealistic Goals Can Serve the Greater Good

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek learns to set big, often unrealistic goals to advance his ambition to change the world. Similar to Big Hairy Audacious Goals - BHAG - Sinek finds underachieving on large goals to be more rewarding and inspiring than overachieving on small goals. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: Why do you prioritize serving the greater good in doing what you’re doing?

Simon Sinek:  It’s easy to pull things back; it’s very hard to ramp things up. And I’d rather start with something that’s too big and pull it back into reality, than start with something that’s so easy that you can’t really get it up. For example, you know, don’t set your goals realistically, set them entirely unrealistically. I mean, shoot for 80 and be disappointed when you hit 70. As opposed to shooting for 20 and being ecstatic when you hit 21. “We beat our goal!” Yeah, but it was a low goal. You know? I think, I think to be frustrated and achieving something, rather than ecstatic and achieving less, is a better way to live. Not to mention you achieve more. And so, I’m a great believer in the greater good –like those things, like so big, they’re ridiculous. Like, you know my goal, it’s a hundred year goal, it’s called world peace. Pshhh! You know? So daunting, you know? But that’s the idea. If I fail – and I certainly won’t achieve it in my lifetime – I like to think that what I’ll contribute towards that ridiculous idealistic nonsense goal will be more than if I say, “if I can just be happy by myself in my little house,” you know? Eh, I mean that’s nice and all, but I like the idea of contributing to your neighbor as well.

Simon Sinek on How Finding Purpose Increases Sense of Fulfillment

In Chapter 3 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek loses his passion and rebounds by understanding his why, his purpose. Sinek references "Man's Search for Meaning" author Viktor Frankl and the three means Frankl identified to find purpose: through a loving relationship, service, and suffering. Sinek came to understand his own why through suffering and reinvention of self. By clarifying his why, Sinek better understands what actions to take to live a more meaningful and fulfilled life. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: How has better understanding your "why" put you in a more impactful position to change the world?

Simon Sinek: Well, I mean, I'm a guinea pig, you know? When I discovered this thing called "The Why" it came at a time in my life when I had lost my passion for what I was doing. And it wasn't because I saw a market opportunity, or it was an academic exercise, it came out of a time of need. Victor Frankle, the guy who wrote "Man's Search for Meaning". He said that you can find your purpose one of three ways: Through a close, loving relationship; through service; or through suffering. And for better or for worse, mine came through suffering. I wouldn't go through what I went through again, I have no desire to go through what I went through, but I'm glad that it happened. And I literally stopped talking about what I do and started talking about what I believed in the world that I imagined.

You know, there are over 90 percent of people who go home at the end of the day not feeling fulfilled by the work that they do. And this is the point I was in in my own life. Everything superficial looked good but I didn't - I didn't care - I didn't love what I did I just, I went through the motions. And I am now working towards a world in which that statistic is reversed. I imagine a world in which over 90 percent of the population is fulfilled by what they do, that 90 percent of the population goes home at the end of the day and says, "I love my job; I love my work." And for me, that kind of focus is itself fulfilling. To be able to contribute and help build that world, and to see it build. So, understanding my own "why" has absolutely contributed to my own sense of fulfillment. 

Simon Sinek on How Openness to Unknown Improves Public Speaking Skills

In Chapter 2 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek embraces continuous improvement to incrementally improve his oratory and communication skills. Sinek prioritizes not only practice but also taking risks that make him uncomfortable. Whereas this would have been unthinkable earlier in his career, Sinek applies the lessons learned and incremental confidence to take greater risks when speaking to audiences. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen:  How do you use practice and repetition to improve your public speaking skills?

Simon Sinek: Rarely are we instant experts. You may have a particular gift or affinity towards something but you still get better. You know? People would pay me high compliments when I started speaking, and then people who see me a year or two later say that I'm even better, and I feel it.

Erik Michielsen: Why is that?

Simon Sinek: Because you, you learn more, you know? I think that hubris is dangerous. I think to think you're an expert at anything is a foolish pursuit. You're never, you're never as good as you could be. There's always room for improvement, there's always room to get better. You know, that doesn't mean you have to listen to all the advice, just you know, not necessarily does everybody know best, but to believe that you can be better, and to believe that you can offer more is a constant pursuit. You know, I used to think being a public speaker was being poised, and presenting in a way that was compelling, and speaking at the right pace, and that's a part of it, but I have been taking more risks lately doing things that are very unstructured and very uncomfortable. And I will now do, like if I have an hour to speak, I'd rather speak for twenty minutes and do forty minutes of questions. And who knows how that's gonna go? And that, to me, is the best. And so I'm a better speaker because now I'm way more open to the unknown; where a few years ago that, that would have scared me. 

Simon Sinek on How TED Talk Accelerates Career and Raises Aspirations

In Chapter 1 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares how the positive response from his 2009 TEDx talk has changed his life. In the fall of 2009, Sinek released his first book and did the TED talk. The TED website promoted the talk and it went on to become one of the most favorited talks of all time. As the talk reached global audiences, Sinek's reach also increased. The experience validated Sinek's concept and increased his expectations and aspirations to affect positive change globally. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What has the positive response to your TED talk done to influence your plans for what comes next?

Simon Sinek: The TED talk completely changed my life I'd say. You know, I was on this nice path, sharing this thing called "The Why" and was very excited when I got an opportunity to write a book. But it was the opportunity, to not only do a TED X, but the fact that TED put it on the main website - I only found out about it the morning it happened - that things started moving much quicker.  

It was one of the most favorited talks of all time, which was pretty humbling, and what started to happen was people who I never imagined that I could reach or get to - internationally even - started to hear this message. And lots of other people started talking about it and sharing it. And it was quite fun and quite remarkable that people knew about this thing called "The Why" but they didn't know me. Prior to that, it was really only people who knew me or had a couple of degrees of separation, and so the ability for TED to reach - just such a remarkable number, and it sounds hackneyed, you know, the power they have, but they have remarkable power so that was very exciting.

What Gatorade Teaches About Social Media Branding Innovation - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 10 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares how big brands are innovating customer relationship marketing by using large scale social media monitoring. She cites Gatorade, and its social media "war room" as an example of how a company is putting a higher priority on monitoring and engaging social media customer feedback, ideas, and exchanges. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

How to Use Location Applications to Improve Brand Marketing - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 9 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares what she considers when designing online experiences to connect consumers to in-store purchases. Giegerich defines this as the art of checking in. She points out negotiating the conversation around high impact, low volume audience versus larger reach marketing alternatives such as television. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

The Art of the Check-In as a Social Media Branding Tool - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 8 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich defines what it means to check-in using social media such as Foursquare and the resulting art behind the check-in experience. Giegerich ties both product and personal branding to the check-in experience and how location-specific or brand-specific check-ins help define a person over time. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

Why Marketers Should Empower Audiences to Speak for Brands - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 7 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares why audience participation plays such an important role creating a brand experience. Giegerich highlights the increasing acceptance of marketers empowering their audiences to speak for the brands. When audiences create the messaging, they feel more invested in the brand and is more likely to buy the brand. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

How Change and Awareness Enable Innovative Thinking - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 6 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares her thoughts on defining and creating innovative thinking. As a marketer, Giegerich defines innovation as a product of awareness, having your eyes open all the time. She intentionally puts herself outside the office on the street to look for new marketing ideas and ways to communicate with people. This leads Giegerich to change her routine and rhythm each week, including biking to work one day a week in Los Angeles. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.