Start with why -- how great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TEDxPugetSound

Summary

Simon Sinek en su charla 'Start with why', desentraña el patrón detrás del éxito de líderes y organizaciones inspiradoras como Apple, Martin Luther King y los hermanos Wright. Expone la teoría del círculo dorado, que sostiene que los que logran inspirar comienzan por 'por qué', no 'qué' o 'cómo'. La clave está en comunicar una causa o creencia que motiva a las personas a actuar, más allá de las características o beneficios de un producto, lo que se refleja en la estructura del cerebro humano y en la ley de difusión de la innovación.

Takeaways

• 🧠 El cerebro humano está dividido en tres partes que se correlacionan con el círculo dorado: el neocórtex (qué hacemos), y las dos secciones restantes (cómo y por qué lo hacemos).
• 📱 Apple es un ejemplo de una empresa que se comunica desde su 'por qué', lo que les permite vender no solo computadoras sino una variedad de productos tecnológicos.
• 🛫 Los hermanos Wright lograron el vuelo controlado y motorizado porque estaban motivados por una causa, un propósito y una creencia, a diferencia de otros que buscaban la riqueza y la fama.
• 🤝 La gente compra no lo que hace una empresa, sino el 'por qué' de lo que hacen. Las organizaciones que entienden esto atraen a aquellos que comparten sus creencias.
• 💡 La comunicación desde el 'por qué' es más efectiva para influir en el comportamiento humano, ya que se dirige al área del cerebro que controla las decisiones y no el lenguaje.
• 🌐 El éxito de masas en la adopción de una idea depende de alcanzar un punto de inflexión en la difusión de la innovación, que ocurre entre el 15 y 18 por ciento de penetración de mercado.
• 🗣️ Los líderes inspiradores no solo tienen una posición de poder, sino que también motivan a otros a actuar por voluntad propia, basándose en sus creencias y no solo en órdenes.
• 👥 La gente se une a causas o organizaciones no por义务, sino por compartir las mismas creencias y deseos de cambio en el mundo.
• 🎤 Martin Luther King Jr. logró congregar a 250,000 personas para escucharlo hablar porque expresó sus creencias y convicciones, y no solo un plan de acción.
• 🛒 Las empresas deben buscar no solo a clientes que necesiten lo que ofrecen, sino también a aquellos que compartan sus valores y creencias.
• 🔄 La ley de la difusión de la innovación muestra que los innovadores y los primeros adoptadores son los que toman decisiones intuitivas y basadas en sus creencias, lo que es crucial para el éxito de una idea o producto.

Q & A

¿Qué es el concepto central del discurso de Simon Sinek sobre 'Comenzar con el porqué'?

El concepto central es el 'círculo dorado', que se compone de 'Por qué', 'Cómo' y 'Qué'. Sinek enfatiza que las organizaciones y líderes inspiradores comienzan explicando su 'por qué', es decir, su propósito o creencia fundamental, antes de describir lo que hacen y cómo lo hacen.

¿Por qué Simon Sinek considera que Apple es innovador año tras año?

Sinek sugiere que Apple es innovador porque su 'por qué', su propósito o creencia de desafiar el status quo y pensar de manera diferente, guía sus acciones y comunica a sus clientes y usuarios la razón por la que hacen lo que hacen, más allá de simplemente vender computadoras.

¿Qué ejemplo histórico utiliza Simon Sinek para ilustrar cómo el 'por qué' puede llevar a la liderazgo y éxito?

Sinek utiliza el ejemplo de los hermanos Wright y cómo su creencia en la importancia de la aviación controlada y con motor cambió el curso del mundo, a diferencia de Samuel Pierpont Langley, quien estaba motivado por la riqueza y la fama en lugar de un propósito más profundo.

¿Cómo describe Simon Sinek la diferencia en la forma en que las organizaciones inspiradoras comunican su mensaje?

Sinek dice que en lugar de comunicar primero 'Qué' hacen, las organizaciones inspiradoras comienzan con su 'Por qué', su propósito o creencia, y luego describen 'Cómo' lo logran, lo que resulta en un mensaje más atractivo y que inspira a las personas a actuar.

¿Qué es la Ley de Difusión de la Innovación y cómo se relaciona con el 'por qué' de una organización o líder?

La Ley de Difusión de la Innovación es un modelo que describe cómo nuevas ideas son adoptadas por diferentes grupos de la sociedad. Se relaciona con el 'por qué' porque las personas que comparten los mismos valores o creencias ('por qué') de un líder o organización son más propensas a adoptar nuevas ideas y productos, lo que puede llevar a un éxito de mercado más amplio.

¿Por qué Simon Sinek afirma que las personas compran más por la razón de un negocio que por lo que el negocio hace?

Sinek argumenta que las personas buscan conexiones y creencias compartidas, y cuando una organización o líder comunica su 'por qué', atraen a aquellos que comparten ese propósito, lo que lleva a una lealtad y compromiso más profundos que simplemente una compra basada en características o beneficios.

¿Cómo Simon Sinek explica la relación entre la estructura del cerebro humano y la importancia del 'por qué' en la comunicación?

Sinek indica que la parte del cerebro que controla las emociones y la toma de decisiones (el lóbulo límbico) no tiene capacidad para el lenguaje, lo que significa que cuando una persona se comunica desde su 'por qué', está hablando directamente a la parte del cerebro que controla el comportamiento, lo que puede resultar en una acción más inspirada.

¿Qué ejemplo Simon Sinek da para ilustrar cómo la comunicación del 'por qué' puede cambiar la percepción de un producto o servicio?

Sinek utiliza Apple como ejemplo, comparando cómo podría ser una comunicación tradicional basada en 'Qué' con la comunicación de Apple que comienza con su 'Por qué': 'Creemos en desafiar el status quo', lo que hace que su mensaje sea más atractivo y efectivo.

¿Qué importancia tiene la autenticidad en el 'por qué' de una organización según el discurso de Simon Sinek?

La autenticidad es crucial porque permite a las personas y organizaciones conectarse con aquellos que comparten sus mismos valores y creencias. Si el 'por qué' no es genuino, es menos probable que inspire y atraiga a otros a unirse a la causa o a comprar el producto.

¿Cómo Simon Sinek describe la diferencia entre líderes y aquellos que llevan a otros?

Sinek dice que los líderes pueden tener un puesto de poder o autoridad, pero aquellos que llevan a otros nos inspiran. Nosotros seguimos a aquellos que llevan no porque tengamos que hacerlo, sino porque queremos hacerlo, y esto se debe a que ellos comienzan con un 'por qué' sólido y auténtico.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Comenzar con el 'porqué'

En el primer párrafo, Simon Sinek introduce la idea central de su charla: 'Comenzar con el porqué'. Explica que muchas personas y organizaciones asumen que conocen la razón de sus acciones, pero a menudo no logran explicar por qué otras logran resultados inesperados. Utiliza ejemplos como la innovación de Apple, el liderazgo de Martin Luther King en la Marcha por los Derechos Civiles y el éxito de los hermanos Wright en el vuelo con motor, para plantear la pregunta de por qué estos individuos y grupos tienen un impacto distinto. Sinek revela que descubrió un patrón, el 'círculo dorado', que comprende los principios fundamentales de porqué, cómo y qué, que es común en todos los líderes y organizaciones inspiradoras.

05:01

🧠 La importancia del 'porqué' en la biología humana

El segundo párrafo se adentra en la base biológica del 'porqué', explicando que la comunicación desde el interior hacia afuera, como lo hacen las organizaciones y líderes inspiradores, se alinea con la estructura del cerebro humano. La parte más nueva del cerebro, el neocórtex, se asocia con el 'qué' y es responsable del pensamiento racional y el lenguaje, mientras que las dos secciones centrales, la parte límbica del cerebro, controlan los sentimientos y la toma de decisiones, pero no tienen capacidad para el lenguaje. Esto ilustra por qué las organizaciones que comienzan con su propósito o 'porqué' logran conectar a un nivel más profundo con las personas, lo que lleva a una lealtad y comportamiento más arraigado en los valores compartidos.

10:04

🛫 El poder de la creencia y el fracaso de Langley

En el tercer párrafo, Sinek narra la historia de los hermanos Wright y Samuel Pierpont Langley para enfatizar la diferencia entre trabajar por una creencia y trabajar solo por el éxito material. Mientras que los Wright estaban motivados por un propósito mayor, Langley buscaba riqueza y fama. A pesar de tener más recursos y apoyo, Langley no logró el éxito en el vuelo con motor, y en contraste, los Wright, con menos recursos pero una fuerte convicción, lo lograron. Esto demuestra que el éxito no solo depende de los recursos, sino también de la conexión emocional y la pasión por una causa común.

15:09

🌐 La ley de difusión de la innovación y la inspiración

El cuarto y último párrafo concluye la presentación de Sinek hablando sobre la 'ley de difusión de la innovación', que explica cómo las ideas se aceptan en el mercado. Sinek señala que para lograr el éxito masivo, se necesita alcanzar un punto de inflexión del 15 al 18 por ciento de penetración del mercado. Utiliza el ejemplo de TiVo, que a pesar de tener un producto de alta calidad, no logró el éxito comercial debido a que no se comunicó efectivamente el 'porqué' de su existencia. En contraste, la asistencia masiva al discurso de Dr. King fue el resultado de su habilidad para inspirar y conectar con las creencias de las personas, lo que demuestra el poder de la inspiración y la importancia de comenzar con el 'porqué'.

Keywords

💡Innovación

Innovación se refiere a la introducción de nuevas ideas, productos o procesos que rompen con lo convencional y mejoran significativamente lo existente. En el video, se menciona a Apple como un ejemplo de una empresa innovadora que año tras año supera a sus competidores, destacando su capacidad para desafiar el status quo y pensar de manera diferente, lo cual es central en el mensaje del video sobre la importancia de tener una 'causa' o 'razón' para inspirar a otros.

💡Golden Circle

El Golden Circle es un modelo presentado por Simon Sinek que se utiliza para explicar por qué algunas organizaciones y líderes logran inspirar mientras otras no. El Golden Circle se compone de tres capas: 'Why', 'How' y 'What'. En el video, Sinek enfatiza que los líderes inspiradores comienzan por el 'Why', es decir, su propósito o creencia, en lugar de comenzar por lo que hacen ('What') o cómo lo hacen ('How').

💡Propósito

El propósito es la razón fundamental detrás de la existencia de una organización o una persona. En el contexto del video, el propósito se relaciona con la 'causa' o 'creencia' que impulsa a una organización o líder a hacer lo que hacen. Se destaca que muy pocos conocen su 'Why' y que este es crucial para inspirar a otros y para la lealtad, como se ejemplifica con la filosofía de Apple de desafiar el status quo.

💡Causa

La causa hace referencia a la misión o el objetivo que una persona o una organización se propone alcanzar, que a menudo es más grande que ellos mismos. En el video, la causa es el núcleo del 'Why' que Simon Sinek discute, y es la base de la inspiración y del liderazgo auténtico, como lo demuestra el ejemplo de los hermanos Wright y su creencia en la importancia del vuelo motorizado.

💡Comportamiento

El comportamiento se refiere a la forma en que las personas o las organizaciones actúan en respuesta a sus creencias y decisiones. En el video, se argumenta que comunicar desde el 'Why' habla directamente al parte del cerebro que controla el comportamiento, lo que puede llevar a decisiones 'de corazón' o 'de alma', que son en realidad decisiones del lóbulo límbico.

💡Difusión de la Innovación

La 'Difusión de la Innovación' es un concepto que describe cómo nuevas ideas o productos son adoptados por diferentes grupos en la sociedad. En el video, se utiliza para explicar la importancia de atraer a aquellos que comparten la misma creencia o 'Why', ya que son los que impulsarán la adopción más amplia de una idea o producto.

💡Liderazgo

El liderazgo, en el sentido discutido en el video, va más allá del poder o la autoridad; se refiere a la capacidad de inspirar a otros a actuar basándose en una creencia compartida. Los líderes que comienzan con el 'Why' tienen el poder de motivar a otros a trabajar no solo por el dinero, sino por la pasión y la convicción en una causa común.

💡Cerebro Límbico

El lóbulo límbico es una parte del cerebro que controla las emociones y el comportamiento, y que no tiene capacidad para el lenguaje. En el video, se argumenta que al comunicarse desde el 'Why', se habla directamente a esta parte del cerebro, lo que puede resultar en decisiones basadas en la intuición y las creencias más que en la información racional.

💡Believe

Believe, o 'creer', se refiere a la confianza y convicción en algo, y es fundamental en el video para entender cómo las personas se unen a causas o organizaciones. El 'Why' de una entidad atrae a aquellos que comparten esa creencia, como se ejemplifica con la historia de los hermanos Wright y su sueño del vuelo.

💡Comportamiento Racional

El comportamiento racional es la acción tomada basada en el análisis lógico y la razón. En el video, se contrasta con las decisiones 'de corazón' que surgen del lóbulo límbico y que a menudo son más profundas y significativas, como cuando las personas compran productos de Apple no solo por su calidad, sino por la creencia en su 'Why'.

💡TiVo

TiVo es mencionado en el video como un ejemplo de un producto de alta calidad que, a pesar de tener el dinero, el talento y las condiciones del mercado adecuados, no logró el éxito comercial. Esto se atribuye a que TiVo se centró en 'What' tenía en lugar de 'Why', lo que no inspiró a sus clientes potenciales a adoptar su producto.

Highlights

Simon Sinek introduces the concept of 'Start with why', emphasizing the importance of understanding the underlying purpose behind actions and organizations.

Sinek questions why some entities, like Apple, consistently outperform others despite similar resources and conditions.

He discusses the example of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, highlighting the power of belief and purpose in leadership.

Sinek contrasts the success of the Wright brothers with other teams, pointing out the difference was not qualifications but their 'why'.

The 'Golden Circle' model is introduced, outlining the pattern of thinking, acting, and communicating from the inside out for inspiration.

Sinek explains the difference between knowing 'what' you do, 'how' you do it, and the importance of understanding 'why' you do it.

He illustrates Apple's marketing strategy, demonstrating how they communicate their 'why' before their 'what'.

Sinek emphasizes that people buy based on 'why', not 'what', and that this principle applies to various products, not just computers.

The concept that customers and employees are attracted to organizations and leaders who share their beliefs is discussed.

Sinek explains the biological basis for the 'Golden Circle', relating it to the structure and function of the human brain.

He describes the importance of communicating from the inside out to directly influence the part of the brain that controls behavior.

Sinek uses the story of Samuel Pierpont Langley and the Wright brothers to illustrate the difference between pursuing results versus a cause.

The 'Law of Diffusion of Innovation' is introduced, explaining the stages of market adoption and the importance of reaching a tipping point.

Sinek discusses the challenge of identifying and attracting the early adopters who are driven by beliefs rather than just the product.

He contrasts the failure of TiVo with the success of Dr. King's movement, attributing the difference to their approach to communicating their message.

Sinek concludes by emphasizing that true leaders inspire, and those who start with 'why' have the power to motivate others.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Capa Girl Reviewer: Wendy Morales

So, where do you start when you have a program that's about integrating lives with passions?

Well, you start with "why."

Why?

And that kicks us off for the first speaker tonight - Simon Sinek

and his talk "Start with why."

Simon Sinek: We assume, even, we know why we do what we do.

But then how do you explain when things don't go as we assume?

Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things

that seem to defy all of the assumptions?

For example: why is Apple so innovative?

Year after year, after year,

they're more innovative than all their competition.

And yet, they're just a computer company.

They're just like everyone else.

They have the same access to the same talent,

the same agencies, the same consultants, the same media.

Then why is it that they seem to have something different?

Why is it that Martin Luther King led the Civil Rights Movement?

He wasn't the only man who suffered in a pre-civil rights America,

and he certainly wasn't the only great orator of the day.

Why him?

And why is it that the Wright brothers were able to figure out

controlled, powered man flight when there were certainly other teams

who were better qualified, better funded --

and they didn't achieve powered man flight,

the Wright brothers beat them to it.

There's something else at play here.

About three and a half years ago I made a discovery.

And this discovery profoundly changed my view

on how I thought the world worked,

and it even profoundly changed the way in which I operate in it.

As it turns out, there's a pattern.

As it turns out, all the great and inspiring leaders and organizations in the world --

whether it's Apple or Martin Luther King or the Wright brothers --

they all think, act and communicate the exact same way.

And it's the complete opposite to everyone else.

All I did was codify it, and it's probably the world's simplest idea.

I call it the golden circle.

Why? How? What?

This little idea explains why some organizations and some leaders

are able to inspire where others aren't.

Let me define the terms really quickly.

Every single person, every single organization on the planet

knows what they do. 100 percent.

Some know how they do it,

whether you call it your differentiated value proposition

or your proprietary process or your USP.

But very, very few people or organizations know why they do what they do.

And by "why" I don't mean "to make a profit."

That's a result. It's always a result.

By "why" I mean: What's your purpose?

What's your cause? What's your belief?

Why does your organization exist?

Well, as a result, the way we think, the way we act,

the way we communicate is from the outside in.

It's obvious. We go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing.

But the inspired leaders and the inspired organizations --

regardless of their size, regardless of their industry --

all think, act and communicate from the inside out.

Let me give you an example.

I use Apple because they're easy to understand and everybody gets it.

If Apple were like everyone else,

a marketing message from them might sound like this:

"We make great computers.

They're beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly.

Wanna buy one?" "Meh."

And that's how most of us communicate.

That's how most marketing is done, that's how most sales is done

and that's how most of us communicate interpersonally.

We say what we do, we say how we're different or how we're better

and we expect some sort of a behavior,

a purchase, a vote, something like that.

Here's our new law firm.

We have the best lawyers with the biggest clients,

we always perform for our clients who do business with us.

Here's our new car. It gets great gas mileage,

it has leather seats, buy our car. But it's uninspiring.

Here's how Apple actually communicates.

"Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo.

We believe in thinking differently.

The way we challenge the status quo

is by making our products beautifully designed,

simple to use and user friendly.

We just happen to make great computers.

Wanna buy one?"

Totally different right? You're ready to buy a computer from me.

All I did was reverse the order of the information.

People don't buy what you do they buy why you do it.

People don't buy what you do they buy why you do it.

This explains why every single person in this room

is perfectly comfortable buying a computer from Apple.

But we're also perfectly comfortable buying an MP3 player from Apple,

or a phone from Apple, or a DVR from Apple.

But, as I said before, Apple's just a computer company.

There's nothing that distinguishes them structurally from any of their competitors.

Their competitors are all equally qualified to make all of these products.

In fact, they tried.

A few years ago, Gateway came out with flat screen TVs.

They're eminently qualified to make flat screen TVs.

They've been making flat screen monitors for years.

Nobody bought one.

Dell came out with MP3 players and PDAs, and they make great quality products,

and they can make perfectly well-designed products --

and nobody bought one.

In fact, talking about it now, we can't even imagine

buying an MP3 player from Dell.

Why would you buy an MP3 player from a computer company?

But we do it every day.

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have.

The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.

Here's the best part:

None of what I'm telling you is my opinion.

It's all grounded in the tenets of biology.

Not psychology, biology.

If you look at a cross-section of the human brain,

looking from the top down,

what you see is the human brain is actually broken into three major components

that correlate perfectly with the golden circle.

Our newest brain, our Homo Sapien brain,

our neocortex, corresponds with the "what" level.

The neocortex is responsible for all of our

rational and analytical thought and language.

The middle two sections make up our limbic brains,

and our limbic brains are responsible for all of our feelings,

like trust and loyalty.

It's also responsible for all human behavior,

all decision-making,

and it has no capacity for language.

In other words, when we communicate from the outside in,

yes, people can understand vast amounts of complicated information

like features and benefits and facts and figures.

It just doesn't drive behavior.

When we can communicate from the inside out,

we're talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behavior,

and then we allow people to rationalize it

with the tangible things we say and do.

This is where gut decisions come from.

You know, sometimes you can give somebody all the facts and figures,

and they say, "I know what all the facts and details say, but it just doesn't feel right."

Why would we use that verb, it doesn't "feel" right?

Because the part of the brain that controls decision-making doesn't control language.

And the best we can muster up is, "I don't know. It just doesn't feel right."

Or sometimes you say you're leading with your heart,

or you're leading with your soul.

Well, I hate to break it to you, those aren't other body parts

controlling your behavior.

It's all happening here in your limbic brain,

the part of the brain that controls decision-making and not language.

But if you don't know why you do what you do,

and people respond to why you do what you do,

then how will you ever get people to vote for you,

or buy something from you, or, more importantly, be loyal

and want to be a part of what it is that you do?

Again, the goal is not just to sell to people who need what you have,

the goal is to sell to people who believe what you believe.

The goal is not just to hire people who need a job,

it's to hire people who believe what you believe.

I always say that, you know,

if you hire people just because they can do a job, they'll work for your money,

but if you hire people who believe what you believe,

they'll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.

And nowhere else is there a better example of this

than with the Wright brothers.

Most people don't know about Samuel Pierpont Langley.

And back in the early 20th century,

the pursuit of powered man flight was like the dot com of the day.

Everybody was trying it.

And Samuel Pierpont Langley had, what we assume,

to be the recipe for success.

I mean, even now, when you ask people,

"Why did your product or why did your company fail?"

And people always give you the same permutation

of the same three things:

under-capitalized, the wrong people, bad market conditions.

It's always the same three things, so let's explore that.

Samuel Pierpont Langley was given 50,000 dollars by the War Department

to figure out this flying machine.

Money was no problem.

He held a seat at Harvard and worked at the Smithsonian

and was extremely well-connected.

He knew all the big minds of the day.

He hired the best minds money could find

and the market conditions were fantastic.

The New York Times followed him around everywhere,

and everyone was rooting for Langley.

Then how come we've never heard of Samuel Pierpont Langley?

A few hundred miles away in Dayton Ohio,

Orville and Wilbur Wright,

they had none of what we consider to be the recipe for success.

They had no money, they paid for their dream

with the proceeds from their bicycle shop,

not a single person on the Wright brothers' team had a college education,

not even Orville or Wilbur,

and The New York Times followed them around nowhere.

The difference was, Orville and Wilbur were driven by a cause,

by a purpose, by a belief.

They believed that if they could figure out this flying machine,

it'll change the course of the world.

Samuel Pierpont Langley was different.

He wanted to be rich, and he wanted to be famous.

He was in pursuit of the result. He was in pursuit of the riches.

And lo and behold, look what happened.

The people who believed in the Wright brothers' dream

worked with them with blood and sweat and tears.

The others just worked for the paycheck.

And they tell stories of how every time the Wright brothers went out,

they would have to take five sets of parts,

because that's how many times they would crash before they came in for supper.

And, eventually, on December 17th 1903,

the Wright brothers took flight,

and no one was there to even experience it.

We found out about it a few days later.

And further proof that Langley was motivated by the wrong thing:

The day the Wright brothers took flight, he quit.

He could have said, "That's an amazing discovery, guys,

and I will improve upon your technology," but he didn't.

He wasn't first, he didn't get rich,

he didn't get famous so he quit.

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

And if you talk about what you believe,

you will attract those who believe what you believe.

But why is it important to attract those who believe what you believe?

Something called the law of diffusion of innovation,

and if you don't know the law, you definitely know the terminology.

The first two and a half percent of our population are our innovators.

The next 13 and a half percent of our population are our early adopters.

The next 34 percent are your early majority,

your late majority and your laggards.

The only reason these people buy touch tone phones

is because you can't buy rotary phones anymore.

(Laughter)

We all sit at various places at various times on this scale,

but what the law of diffusion of innovation tells us

is that if you want mass-market success

or mass-market acceptance of an idea,

you cannot have it until you achieve this tipping point,

between 15 and 18 percent market penetration, and then the system tips.

And I love asking businesses, "What's your conversion on new business?"

And they love to tell you, "Oh, it's about 10 percent," proudly.

Well, you can trip over 10 percent of the customers.

We all have about 10 percent who just "get it."

That's how we describe them, right?

That's like that gut feeling, "Oh, they just get it."

The problem is: How do you find the ones that get it

before you're doing business with them versus the ones who don't get it?

So it's this here, this little gap that you have to close,

as Jeffrey Moore calls it, "Crossing the Chasm" --

Because, you see, the early majority will not try something

until someone else has tried it first.

And these guys, the innovators and the early adopters,

they're comfortable making those gut decisions.

They're more comfortable making those intuitive decisions

that are driven by what they believe about the world

and not just what product is available.

These are the people who stood in line for 6 hours

to buy an iPhone when they first came out,

when you could have just walked into the store the next week

and bought one off the shelf.

These are the people who spent 40,000 dollars

on flat screen TVs when they first came out,

even though the technology was substandard.

And, by the way, they didn't do it

because the technology was so great, they did it for themselves.

It's because they wanted to be first.

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it

and what you do simply proves what you believe.

In fact, people will do the things that prove what they believe.

The reason that person bought the iPhone in the first six hours,

stood in line for six hours,

was because of what they believed about the world,

and how they wanted everybody to see them:

They were first.

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

So let me give you a famous example,

a famous failure and a famous success of the law of diffusion of innovation.

First, the famous failure.

It's a commercial example.

As we said before, a second ago, the recipe for success is

money and the right people and the right market conditions.

Right? You should have success then.

Look at TiVo.

From the time TiVo came out about 8 or nine 9 ago to this current day,

they are the single highest-quality product on the market,

hands down, there is no dispute.

They were extremely well-funded.

Market conditions were fantastic.

I mean, we use TiVo as verb.

I TiVo stuff on my piece of junk Time Warner DVR all the time.

But TiVo's a commercial failure.

They've never made money.

And when they went IPO, their stock was at about 30 or 40 dollars

and then plummeted, and it's never traded above 10.

In fact, I don't think it's even traded above 6, except for a couple of little spikes.

Because you see, when TiVo launched their product

they told us all what they had.

They said, "We have a product that pauses live TV,

skips commercials, rewinds live TV

and memorizes your viewing habits without you even asking."

And the cynical majority said, "We don't believe you.

We don't need it. We don't like it. You're scaring us."

What if they had said,

"If you're the kind of person who likes to have total control

over every aspect of your life, boy, do we have a product for you.

It pauses live TV, skips commercials, memorizes your viewing habits, etc., etc."

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

And what you do simply serves as the proof of what you believe.

Now let me give you a successful example of the law of diffusion of innovation.

In the summer of 1963, 250,000 people showed up

on the mall in Washington to hear Dr. King speak.

They sent out no invitations, and there was no website to check the date.

How do you do that?

Well, Dr. King wasn't the only man in America who was a great orator.

He wasn't the only man in America who suffered in a pre-civil rights America.

In fact, some of his ideas were bad.

But he had a gift.

He didn't go around telling people what needed to change in America.

He went around and told people what he believed.

"I believe, I believe, I believe," he told people.

And people who believed what he believed

took his cause, and they made it their own, and they told people.

And some of those people created structures

to get the word out to even more people.

And lo and behold, 250,000 people showed up

on the right day, at the right time to hear him speak.

How many of them showed up for him? Zero.

They showed up for themselves.

It's what they believed about America

that got them to travel in a bus for 8 hours

to stand in the sun in Washington in the middle of August.

It's what they believed, and it wasn't about black versus white:

25 percent of the audience was white.

Dr. King believed that there are two types of laws in this world:

those that are made by a higher authority and those that are made by man.

And not until all the laws that are made by man are consistent with the laws

that are made by the higher authority will we live in a just world.

It just so happened that the Civil Rights Movement

was the perfect thing to help him bring his cause to life.

We followed, not for him, but for ourselves.

And, by the way, he gave the "I have a dream" speech,

not the "I have a plan" speech.

(Laughter)

Listen to politicians now, with their comprehensive 12-point plans.

They're not inspiring anybody.

Because there are leaders and there are those who lead.

Leaders hold a position of power or authority,

but those who lead inspire us.

Whether they're individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead,

not because we have to, but because we want to.

We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves.

And it's those who start with "why" that have the ability

to inspire those around them or find others who inspire them.

Thank you very much.