The Golden Circle

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership — starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers …

The Golden Circle of effective thought leadership:

1. [ CENTER ] Why?
2. [ MIDDLE ] How?
3. [ OUTER ] What?

Here are the main concepts:

• Great companies start with Why? and move outward
• Mediocre companies start with What? and never quite make it inward
• Companies that start with Why? resonate with people, and get them to believe in their vision. This makes it so they’ll buy anything from the company
• Companies that start with What? blend in with everyone else, and don’t ever stand out

The concept applies to people as well.

• Good leaders of people have a vision and a core set of beliefs, and they lead by pursuing those beliefs through the How? and What?
• Weak leaders just tell you What and How, and don’t provide any insight into Why

The Golden Circle, an extraordinary concept.

Notes

1. Source content: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action