Monday, August 11, 2014

TED Talks- Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

In the TED Talk How great leaders inspire action’ Simon Sinek refers to the concept of the golden circle, a concept he created to understand the reason behind a leader’s success. The golden circle includes three levels: what, how and why. Only a few people know why they do what they do, the purpose of why they exist. Sinek said all the great leaders think, act and communicate the same way, while it is the exact opposite for everyone else. The key for inspiration is to reverse the order of the information, to communicate from the inside out, starting always with the ‘why’.  When the consumers buy the ‘why’ of the company instead of the product itself, the connection is special and the company makes them believe in what the company believes.

One of my favorite brands is Coca-Cola because they do not focus on the product in the marketing campaigns; they always involve the feelings of the consumers and make them believe in the company’s values. This is the perfect example of the why, how, what format. Coca-Cola never starts a campaign referring to the product. They sell an experience. They sell ‘happiness’. They are not focused on showing a drink to quench thirst; they show the experience to share it with family and friends. The purpose of the brand is to make people feel happy.  Even though the product does not change, they are always innovating with new, positive messages to send to the audience. They know how to impact people’s emotions.

Simon Sinek also talks about the law of diffusion of innovation. The law shows five different types of groups in the society: the innovators, the early adopters, the early majority, the late majority and the laggards. In terms of fashion products, especially clothes, I fall into the category of innovator. I consider myself a fashion lover.  I have to be first to go into shops such as Zara to buy at least one new dress for the season. I am always willing to take risks and try new fashion styles. On the other side, in terms of technology I fall more in the category of late majority. Despite that fact that I wanted an iPhone 5C so bad, at the moment the product was launched I had other priorities so I decided not to buy it. I was more rational and I thought that since my iPhone 4S was still working, I did not need a new one. Maybe I will wait until the price decreases with the launch of the iPhone 6 that is coming in September and I will get an iPhone 5C.


I really enjoyed this talk because Sinek, as a leadership expert, makes the audience reflect the path to be a leader and be able to hold a position of power with responsibility.

No comments:

Post a Comment