Analysis Of Simon Sinek Start With Why

Start with Why Analysis In today’s age and society, it is all too easy to get caught up with what you have or what you do. It is also easy to see how you do what you do. Simon Sinek challenges that in his book, Start with Why, to show how leaders don’t just do what they do, or know how to do it, they start with WHY. The book is a few years old, being first published in 2009, and primarily takes views from a business perspective. Despite those two circumstances, this book relates to the way military leaders should act. Sinek talks about WHAT, HOW, and WHY in his book, which are all a part of his Golden Circle (Sinek, 2009, p. 37). He follows that up with a discussion of the biology that influences the Golden Circle. Lastly, he talks about the …show more content…
(Sinek, 2009, p. 58). Sinek explains, on page 58, that the neocortex corresponds to the WHAT level of the Golden Circle. This is the rational part of the brain. This is the part that sometimes falls subject to manipulations. The limbic brain, on the other hand, corresponds to the HOW and WHY. It represents our thoughts and feelings. These are things which are not as tangible. Sinek explains that the limbic brain has no capacity for language. This is why, he argues, it is hard to put our feelings into words. The limbic brain is the part of the brain that responds to feelings of loyalty and trust. As a military leader, having the trust and loyalty of those under you is of most importance. If your men don’t trust that you have their best interests in mind, they won’t be loyal to you and WHAT you want to do. Sinek talks a bit about Martin Luther King Jr., who knew WHY he was doing what he was doing. He was looking out for the civil rights of everyone. Those that followed him knew WHY he was doing it. This allowed for him to gain such loyalty and trust. People trusted that King was looking out for their best interests. Herb Kelleher, who was the founder of Southwest Airlines, “was considered a heretic” (Sinek, 2009, p. 84) because he had a firm belief that a company’s responsibility was to “look after its employees first.” (Sinek, 2009, p. 84). His employees knew that …show more content…
The WHY-types are the visionaries of a movement, such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Dr. King of a movement. Steve Wozniak, Paul Allen, and Ralph Abernathy on the other hand are the HOW-types. Wozniak and Allen were the engineers that put Jobs’ and Gates’ vision into motion. They could build and design. Abernathy understood the steps that needed to be done to realize Dr. King’s dream. (Sinek, 2009, p. 138). This, I feel, is the most crucial and relevant part from a military standpoint. The officers are supposed to be the WHY-types. The senior NCOs are the HOW-types. Not to say that the roles can’t be reversed from time to time, but it is the officer’s job to create an environment where everyone understands his vision of the mission. The senior NCOs have the technical knowledge of how to get it done. This in turn enables the movements necessary to accomplish the mission. I have been on several road construction projects since my time in the National Guard as a horizontal engineer. However, the first mission I was ever tasked with was in support of the Texas National Guard in response to the wildfires of 2011. This was a great time for myself. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my leader had a great sense of WHY. We were out there protecting civilian homes from wildfires. It was a great feeling knowing that I was out there in support of this cause.