In six part and fourteen chapters, Sinek reveals what organizations need to do to be industry leaders. Surprisingly simple, leaders needs to remind employees why the organization was founded in the first place; they need to remember their WHY.
Those organizations that forget their WHY experience a strange bifurcation between what they do and why they do it. According to Sinek, Dell, Microsoft, Walmart, and Starbucks are some of the companies that have forgotten their original purpose.
For Sinek, it all comes down to a golden circle. At the center of the circle is the company's purpose or passion. The leader turns this golden circle, now imagined as a cone, into a megaphone. Everything the company does, even the people it hires must be aligned with company's purpose.
Using anecdotes and historical examples, Sinek explains how a trend is different from a fad, how novelty is different from innovation. Real innovation changes the industry and can change society.
Sinek highlight those companies that inspire the most--most notably Apple, Virgin Records, Southwest Airlines but also some less well-known companies.
To be successful, these companies need to market to early adopters and others that share their values. They need a marketing team that effuse their message; products and services that pass the celery test. They need good successors that keep the WHY alive.
