Video 2 Simon Sinek Power of Consistency

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the power of consistency in building relationships and leadership. Comparing love and leadership to the gradual results of exercise and dental hygiene, they argue that it's the daily, small acts of service and care that accumulate to create trust and devotion. Leadership is not about grand gestures but the daily practice of showing up and caring for others, which ultimately leads to a strong, unified team that can weather any challenge.

Takeaways

• 💞 Love and leadership are built over time through consistent actions rather than single defining moments.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Just like physical fitness, leadership requires daily practice and commitment for long-term results.
• 🌅 Small, consistent gestures of care and attention can accumulate into significant feelings of love and trust.
• 🌿 The importance of daily habits like brushing teeth is analogous to the daily practice of leadership skills.
• 🎁 Grand gestures are memorable, but it's the everyday actions that truly build and sustain relationships.
• 🗣️ Communication and active listening are fundamental to building trust and showing care for others.
• 🏆 Leadership is not about grand events but the accumulation of many small acts that demonstrate care and commitment.
• 👫 The concept of treating colleagues like family can foster a strong corporate culture and deep loyalty.
• 👨‍👧‍👦 Leaders should instill in their teams the values of caring for those under their charge, creating a ripple effect of support.
• 🔍 While traditional metrics can be useful in the long term, they may not reflect the immediate impact of consistent leadership practices.
• 🤝 Courage and inspiration in leadership are derived from the support and belief of others, not from an internal source.

Q & A

How does the speaker compare love in a relationship to leadership?

The speaker compares love in a relationship to leadership by emphasizing the importance of consistency over time. Just as love grows through small, consistent acts of kindness and attention, leadership is built through daily, consistent actions that demonstrate care and commitment to one's team.

What is the analogy used by the speaker to describe the immediate results of going to the gym?

The speaker uses the analogy of going to the gym and looking in the mirror immediately after a workout to illustrate that immediate results are not always visible, and the same applies to leadership and relationships, where the effects of consistent actions are seen over time rather than instantly.

What is the significance of the speaker's mention of brushing teeth twice a day for 2 minutes?

The mention of brushing teeth twice a day for 2 minutes is used to highlight the importance of daily, consistent habits in achieving long-term results, whether it's maintaining dental health or building strong relationships and leadership.

How does the speaker describe the process of falling in love in the context of small, consistent actions?

The speaker describes falling in love as a result of the accumulation of small, consistent actions that show care and attention, rather than a single grand gesture. These actions can be as simple as saying good morning, getting a drink for the other person, or listening to their bad day without sharing one's own good day.

What is the speaker's view on the role of daily practice in leadership?

The speaker believes that daily practice is crucial in leadership. It's not about the intensity of occasional events or actions, but the consistent, monotonous, and seemingly small actions that build trust and loyalty among team members over time.

Why does the speaker argue that traditional leadership metrics are not effective in the short term?

The speaker argues that traditional leadership metrics are not effective in the short term because they don't account for the gradual, cumulative effect of consistent actions. These metrics become more relevant over the long term when the effects of consistent leadership practices become apparent.

What does the speaker mean by 'the courage to do the right thing' in the context of leadership?

The speaker refers to 'the courage to do the right thing' as the ability to make difficult decisions and take bold actions, which is inspired by the support and trust from others. This courage is not an internal trait but comes from the relationships and the belief that others have in the leader.

How does the speaker explain the concept of 'inspiration' in relation to leadership?

The speaker explains 'inspiration' as an external force that comes from the relationships and support of others. When a leader feels that they have the backing of their team, it inspires them to act courageously, which in turn can inspire others in the organization.

What is the significance of the speaker's reference to 'Dunbar's number'?

The reference to 'Dunbar's number' is used to explain the limitations of human social relationships. It suggests that people can maintain close relationships with about 150 individuals, which has implications for leadership in large organizations where personal connections cannot be made with everyone.

How does the speaker describe the importance of caring for the people in one's charge in leadership?

The speaker describes the importance of caring for the people in one's charge as a critical aspect of leadership. Leaders should ensure that their direct reports are equipped and empowered to take care of their own teams, creating a cascading effect of care and support throughout the organization.

Outlines

00:00

💞 The Power of Consistent Actions in Love and Leadership

The first paragraph discusses the concept of proving love and leadership through consistent actions over time, rather than a single defining moment. It uses the analogy of going to the gym and seeing no immediate results to illustrate the importance of persistence. The speaker emphasizes that leadership is about building trust and commitment through everyday acts of service, like remembering birthdays or being there for someone on a bad day. These small acts accumulate to create a strong bond, whether in a relationship or within a team. The paragraph concludes by highlighting the importance of daily practices in building a strong corporate culture where people feel like family and are devoted to each other.

05:00

🤝 Building a Strong Corporate Culture Through Care and Devotion

The second paragraph delves into how to create a sense of family within a company by fostering common beliefs and values. It compares the role of a leader to that of a parent, emphasizing the importance of caring for the success and well-being of team members. The speaker discusses the long-term benefits of this approach, such as increased loyalty, reduced turnover, and the ability to weather hard times together. The paragraph also touches on the difficulty of measuring the success of leadership in the short term, using the analogy of physical health to explain how the true impact of consistent leadership practices becomes evident over time. It concludes by discussing the importance of trust and the role of leadership in inspiring courage and resilience within an organization.

10:02

🌟 Courage and Inspiration Stemming from Supportive Relationships

The third paragraph focuses on the idea that courage and inspiration are not innate qualities but are derived from the support and belief of others. It explains that when individuals feel that they have the backing of their peers, they are more likely to take risks and make difficult decisions. The speaker argues that the relationships we build throughout our lives not only shape us as leaders but also provide a safety net against negative emotions and self-doubt. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the reciprocal nature of inspiration, where the courage displayed by leaders can, in turn, inspire others within the organization to act courageously.

Keywords

💡Love

Love, in the context of the video, is portrayed as a gradual and cumulative emotion rather than an instantaneous event. It is used to illustrate the concept of leadership, emphasizing the idea that love in a relationship develops over time through consistent acts of care and attention, similar to how leadership is built on a foundation of small, consistent actions that foster trust and loyalty.

💡Leadership

Leadership is a central theme of the video, defined as a process of building trust and loyalty through consistent, small acts of service and care. The script contrasts this with the common misconception that leadership is about grand gestures or events, instead highlighting the importance of daily, routine actions that demonstrate commitment and care for team members.

💡Consistency

Consistency is highlighted as a key factor in both developing love in a relationship and effective leadership. The video uses the analogy of going to the gym and brushing teeth to emphasize that it is not single actions but the repetition of these actions over time that lead to significant results. Consistency is what turns small gestures into a pattern of behavior that builds trust and respect.

💡Trust

Trust is a fundamental outcome of consistent leadership practices. The script suggests that trust is built not through singular events but through the accumulation of many small acts of care and attention. Trust is portrayed as a critical component of leadership, where team members feel secure and valued, leading to a stronger and more cohesive team.

💡Courage

Courage, in the video, is depicted as an external quality derived from the support and belief of others, rather than an internal trait. It is illustrated through the idea that when leaders feel they have the backing of their team, they are more likely to make difficult decisions and act with bravery. This courage, in turn, inspires others within the organization to do the same.

💡Inspiration

Inspiration is presented as a result of the relationships and trust built within an organization. Leaders who act with courage and commitment inspire their team members to follow their example. The video suggests that inspiration is a powerful force that can motivate individuals to perform at their best and contribute to a positive work culture.

💡Service

Service is a recurring concept in the video, referring to the acts of care and support that leaders provide to their team members. It is used to illustrate the idea that leadership is about serving others and putting the needs of the team before one's own. These acts of service, though they may seem small, are what build a strong foundation of trust and loyalty.

💡Commitment

Commitment is a core aspect of both love and leadership as discussed in the video. It is the dedication to a course of action, whether it be a relationship or leading a team, and sticking with it despite challenges. Commitment is portrayed as essential for building trust and achieving long-term success.

💡Cultural Values

Cultural values are the shared beliefs and principles that guide the behavior and attitudes within an organization. The video emphasizes the importance of cultivating a strong corporate culture where people feel like they are part of a family, looking out for one another and working together towards common goals.

💡Dunbar's Number

Dunbar's Number is a concept introduced in the video to explain the limitations of human social relationships. It suggests that individuals can maintain approximately 150 close relationships, which is relevant to leadership as it highlights the challenge of maintaining personal connections in larger organizations.

💡Churn

Churn, in the context of the video, refers to the rate at which employees leave a company. The script argues that with consistent leadership practices that foster loyalty and a strong corporate culture, churn rates can decrease as employees are more likely to feel valued and committed to the organization.

Highlights

The concept of love in relationships is compared to the development of leadership, emphasizing the importance of consistency over time.

Leadership is likened to going to the gym, where immediate results are not visible but long-term commitment leads to transformation.

The analogy of a relationship's development to demonstrate the gradual build-up of trust and love over small, consistent actions.

The importance of daily habits, like brushing teeth, as a metaphor for the consistent practice needed for effective leadership.

Leadership is not about grand gestures but the accumulation of small, meaningful interactions that build trust and loyalty.

The idea that leadership practices, like remembering birthdays, are not about single events but about showing care consistently.

The distinction between 'like' and 'love' in the context of job satisfaction, with love indicating a deep commitment to the workplace.

The notion that a strong corporate culture can lead employees to view each other as family, fostering a sense of unity and loyalty.

The role of leaders as parents, nurturing their team's growth and instilling values that contribute to a positive work environment.

The challenge of measuring leadership effectiveness in the short term versus the long-term benefits of consistent leadership practices.

The impact of leadership on traditional business metrics, such as revenue and market share, which improve over time with consistent leadership.

The idea that loyalty and reduced employee turnover are long-term indicators of effective leadership.

The comparison of social interactions in a workplace to Dunbar's number, which suggests a limit to the number of close relationships humans can maintain.

The importance of leaders knowing and caring for their direct reports, who in turn care for their teams, creating a ripple effect of care throughout an organization.

Courage in leadership is described as an external support system rather than an internal trait, highlighting the importance of feeling backed by others.

Inspiration is presented as an external force derived from relationships, where the support of others can motivate individuals to act courageously.

The long-term benefits of fostering relationships for leaders, which can provide emotional support and help prevent negative feelings about one's capabilities or future.

Transcripts

do you love your wife yes right prove it

like what's the metric give me the

number that helps me know right cuz when

you met her you didn't love her right

now you love her right tell me the day

the love happened it's an impossible

question right but it's not that it

doesn't exist it's that it's much easier

to prove over time right so all

leadership is the same thing it's about

transition it's so if you were to if you

were to go to the gym right like

exercise right if you go to the gym and

you work out and you come back and you

look in the mirror you will see nothing

and if you go to the gym the next day

and you come back and you look in the

mirror you will see nothing

right so clearly there's no results

can't be measured it must not be

effective so we quit

right or if you fundamentally believe

that this is the right course of action

and you stick with it like in a

relationship I bought her flowers and I

wished her happy birthday

and she doesn't love me clearly I'll

give up you know that's not what happens

if you if you believe there's something

there you commit yourself to act an act

of service you commit yourself to the

regime the exercise you can screw it up

you can eat chocolate cake one day you

can skip a skip a day or two you know it

allows for that but if you stick with it

consistently I'm not exactly sure what

day but I know you'll start getting into

shape I know it and the same with the

relationship it's not about the events

it's not about intensity it's about

consistency right you go to the dentist

twice a year your teeth will fall out

you have to brush your teeth every day

for 2 minutes what does brushing your

day twice a day for 2 minutes do nothing

unless you do it every day twice a day

for two minutes right it's the

consistency going to the gym for n hours

does not get you into shape working out

every day for 20 minutes gets you into

shape so the problem is we treat

leadership with intensity we have a

two-day offsite we invite a bunch of

speakers we give everybody a certificate

you're a leader

right those things are like going to the

dentist they're very important they're

good for reminding us or getting us back

on track learning new lessons but it's

the daily practice of all the monotonous

little boring things like brushing your

teeth that matter the most she didn't

fall in love with you because you

remembered her birthday and bought her

flowers and Valentine's Day she fell in

love with you because when you woke up

in the morning you said good morning to

her before you checked your phone she

fell in love with you because when you

went to the fridge to get yourself drink

you got her one without even asking she

fell in love with you because when you

had an amazing day at work and she came

home and she had a terrible day at work

you didn't say yeah yeah yeah but let me

tell you about my day you sat and

listened to her awful day and you didn't

say a thing about your amazing day this

is why she fell in love with you I can't

tell you exactly what day and it was no

particular thing you did it was the

accumulation of all of those little

things that she woke up one day and is

as if she pressed a button she goes I

love him

right leadership is exactly the same

there's no event there's no thing I can

tell you you have to do that your people

will trust you it just doesn't work that

way it's the it's an

accumulation of of lots and lots of

little things that anyone by themselves

is innocuous and useless literally

pointless by themselves people will look

at little things that are good

leadership practices and say that won't

work and you're absolutely right but if

you do it consistently and you do it in

combination with lots of other little

things like saying good morning to

someone that looking them in the eye my

friend George who's a three star general

in the Marine Corps he says his test for

leadership and I love this he goes his

test for a good leader is if you ask

somebody how their day is going you

actually care about the answer right the

number of times we're walking to a

meeting we're rushing we go how are you

not good I I got to get to you later I

got I'm late for a meeting if you ask

the question you were standing there and

you were listening to the answer it's

those little innocuous things that you

do over and over and over and over that

people will say I love my job not I like

my job I like my job means yeah the

challenge is great they pay me well I

like the people I love my job means I

don't want to work anywhere else I don't

care how much somebody else will is

willing to pay me I'm devoted to the

people here and I care desperately about

the people here as if they were my

family in business we have colleagues

and

co-workers in the military they have

brothers and

sisters that's how they think of each

other right

if you really have a strong corporate

culture the people will think of each

other like brothers and sisters don't

it's like a family right no brothers and

sisters deep love fight but the love

doesn't go away right bicker the love

doesn't go away and I'll fight with my

sister but if you threaten my sister

you're going to have to deal with me

right right we'll fight internally we'll

bicker with each other but nobody's

going to hurt each other and if anything

from the outside shows up you got you're

looking at a unified front brothers and

sisters now how do you create brothers

and sisters out of

strangers common beliefs common values

you know parents in other words

Executives who care about their

children's success who care to raise

their children teach them skills

discipline them when necessary help them

build their self-confidence so that they

can go on and Achieve something more

than you could have ever imagined

achieving for

yourself that's leadership an absolute

love and devotion for the people who've

committ commed their lives to this

Enterprise that's such a brilliant

reframe it's so simple and so beautiful

and and unbelievably hard work it is and

it isn't here's here's why it

is you said it it's hard to measure

right it's hard for me to show it's hard

to measure in the short term it's very

easy to measure in the long term over

the long term the traditional metrics

will go up up all your revenues profits

market share the traditional metrics

will go up and more importantly they'll

go up more sta right you will be able to

weather hard times better because the

people will come together they won't

Abandon Ship right um in the over the

long term the traditional metrics are

just fine but also over the long term

your churn will go down right you won't

be going through employees as much right

over the long term you'll find that

loyalty is much higher that people will

turn down better paying jobs right over

the long term all the traditional

metrics are just fine and then some it's

only the short term that it's hard to

measure it's a human thing so just as

you know how your body feels after a

good workout and you know how your body

feels after a big greasy meal you know

you you know that one is good for you

and one is not you know despite what it

may taste like um um and that's the

problem with short-term gains right they

feel really good in the short term so

it's it's we're highly highly highly

trained social animals we're highly

adapted social animals you know we we

can feel social awkwardness and we can

feel when things are going well you know

you can sense it you say you have this

sense of laughter you know around the

office like we're not we're not we don't

work around with blinders we're you know

we're like I said we're we're made to do

this you know that's why we can assess

if somebody's trustworthy or not you

know it's why we keep our walls and like

yeah yeah his results are great but I

wouldn't trust him right you know as

opposed to letting down your like I

trust her for anything I trust her with

my kids my money anything you know um so

uh so we're highly tuned animals and so

we're we're good at sensing it but I

will say there is a caveat to to your to

your metric of laughter which is a

decent one um is that scale breaks

things right in human beings as I said

before we're not made for populations

bigger than about 150ish it's called

dunbar's number Robin Dunbar a professor

from Cambridge University theorized that

we cannot maintain more than 100 about

about 150 close relationships and the

way he defined a close relationship is

if you're at a

bar with a bunch of friends and somebody

comes in would you ask that person to

join you or not and we it's about 150

that we would ask them to come join us

and if you think about the reason that

actually makes perfect sense which is

there's two limiting factors one is time

if you only gave two minutes to every

person you know you'd make no close

friends and the other one is memory you

just can't remember everybody and so

this is where leadership leadership

becomes very very interesting because if

you have a company that has a lot of

people five six seven 800 people a

thousand 2,000 5,000 people clearly you

can't know everyone and clearly as a CEO

like I care about every single one of my

people you don't even know some of the

people you work for are real who work

for you bastards you don't care about

that right so it's a non it's a nonsense

statement right right but what you can

say is I desperately care about the

people whose names I know and whose

faces I recognize and I care desperately

about my leadership and I instill in

them every day that I will give them the

tools and I will take care of them with

one purpose and one purpose only that

they will take care of the people in

their charge

and I want those people to take care of

the people and instill in them that they

take care of the people in their charge

and then by the time you get down to the

masses where the actual thousand exist

because the seniors it's like 20 sure

right where the real thousand exist they

feel about aund of 150 of them can look

to one of their direct leaders to one of

their direct managers and say that

person cares about me that's our boss

that's my boss that's my leader not the

leader it's the it's the CEO that's my

manager my boss my leader sometimes

sometimes you get fired sometimes you

get in trouble sometimes you'll lose

your job and the next guy will get all

the credit it's all true and the courage

to do the right thing in the face of

overwhelming

pressure only the best leaders have that

courage only the best leaders and here's

the Folly courage is not some deep

internal fortitude you don't dig down

deep and find the courage right it just

doesn't exist courage is external our

courage comes from the support we feel

from others in other words when someone

when you feel that someone has your back

when you you you know that the day that

you admit you can't do it someone will

be there and say I got you you can do

this that's what gives you the courage

to do the difficult thing it's not going

off to an asham by yourself somewhere

for four weeks and coming back and

finding the it's not what happens it's

the relationships that we Foster it's

the people around us who love us and

care about us and Believe in Us and when

we have those relationships we will find

the courage to do the right thing and

when you act with courage that in turn

will inspire those in your organization

to also act with courage in other words

it's still an external thing that's what

inspiration is right I'm inspired to

follow your

example but um those relationships um

that we Foster over the course of a

lifetime um will not only

make us into the leaders we need to be

and and hope we can be but they'll often

save your life they'll save you from

depression they'll save you from um

giving up they'll save you from any

matter of you know negative feelings

about your own capabilities your own

future when someone just says I love you

and I will follow you no matter

what