People are listening to Simon Sinek these days. And with good reason. The 43-year old has
three best-selling books and has provided his insights to the military,
corporations and members of Congress. His 2010 TED talk is the third most popular
of all time.
His insights collide with Jack Welch, who was called “Manager
of the Century” by Fortune Magazine
for his 20-year reign at General Electric.
He was famous for the pressure he put on employees; and when profits dropped—massive
layoffs.
Sinek takes issue with Welch’s mantra of maximizing
shareholder profit, calling it a terrible way to lead any group of people. In a
recent interview with SUCCESS magazine’s Michael J. Mooney, Sinek described a vision of “a world in which the vast
majority of people wake up every single morning inspired to go to work, feel
safe when they’re there, and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.”
He tells companies to find employees who share their values
and to empower them with trust. He tells them to create a culture where their
people care about each other in the way soldiers care about one another on the
battlefield.
His military audiences are some of his favorites. The title
of his book “Leaders Eat Last” was taken from a conversation with a Marine
Corps general on the significance of making sure the junior Marines got their
needs taken care of first. Leaders should sacrifice their own comfort for the
good of those in their care.
“Everything about being a leader
is like being a parent,” said Sinek. “It is about committing to the well-being
of those in our care and having a willingness to make sacrifices to see their
interests advanced so that they may carry our banner long after we’re
gone.”
Today’s atmosphere of hyper
connectedness through electronic devices is not developing leaders
or the closeness that most people think. “Virtual relationships can’t help
solve this problem,” Sinek said. “In fact, they could be making the situation
worse. People who spend excessive time
on Facebook frequently become depressed as they compare the perception of their
lives with the lives of others.”
Speaking on leadership at a conference,
he told the corporate leaders, “You need more empathy. You need to take the
time to find out what your people need to do their job better. You need to ask,
“What can I do to help?”
