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Simon Sinek: If You Don’t Understand People, You Don’t Understand Business

About this talk

In this wide-ranging talk, ethnographer and leadership expert Simon Sinek discusses the importance of trust, authenticity, and meaning. Sinek argues that as individuals and companies, everything that we say and do is a symbol of who we are. And it is only when we communicate our beliefs authentically that we can attract others to our cause, and form the bonds that will empower us to achieve truly great things.

Simon Sinek, Leadership Expert & Author

A trained ethnographer and the author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon Sinek has held a life-long curiosity for why people and organizations do the things they do. Studying the leaders and companies that make the greatest impact in the world and achieve a more lasting success than others, he discovered the formula that explains how they do it. Sinek’s amazingly simple idea, The Golden Circle, is grounded in the biology of human decision-making and is changing how leaders and companies think and act. His innovative views on business and leadership have earned him invitations to meet with an array of leaders and organizations, including Microsoft, Dell, SAP, Intel, Chanel, Members of the United States Congress, and the Ambassadors of Bahrain and Iraq.

Sinek recently became an adjunct staff member of the RAND Corporation, one of the most highly regarded think tanks in the world.  He also works with the non-profit Education for Employment Foundation to help create opportunities for young men and women in the Middle East region. He lives in New York, where he teaches graduate level strategic communications at Columbia University.

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Comments (111)
  • Umyr_wd

    really nice conversation

  • Luis Camarena

    I usually curse a lot but I’ll keep it down. Best talk ever. I watch them all – here, TED talks, random online courses… This one was amazing, moving and dead-on. This is what the future is hopefully made of. Totally worth the 30 minutes.

  • Jason Worley

    truly an amazing talk.

  • Ahmad Awais

    nice title !

  • Tqarem

    I definitely agree with him because we in our profession it’s all about your clients thoughts and perspective. So if you don’t understand your clients, you’re not going to be able to do business that fulfills their needs.

  • Punctuation Mark

    This is one of the best presentations i’ve seen in a long time… the 30 mins flew by and didn’t even notice it.
    I agree on what he says about the symbols/signs we put out there and how they make a difference in everything we do

    Thanks a lot for posting this video!!!

  • Chrisdimitrios

    WOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

  • Banualpaslan31

    It’s a good title…

  • Niwat Pom

    It is very attractive presentation with interesting content.

  • bothand

    Powerful. Thank you.

  • Buddy Overstreet

    one of the most relevant talks of the conference. applies to all humans.

  • Marena

    What an awesome talk.

  • Hisham

    Great talk and quite relevant to all.
    I wish many people would take this and act upon it.

  • Talton

    Simon Sinek with another great talk.

  • Catalin Macarie

    I’ve just become even a bigger fan. I’ve got three words: SIMON YOU ROCK!

  • Fooze

    Optimal pitch for panhandlers:

    “If you only give once a month, please think of me next time.” 

  • Paul

    loved this.  posted it.  watched it again.  common sense but concepts that most forget so easily.

  • mariofontes

    marvelous thinking ! thank you very much for sharing yourself !

  • tbg design

    beautiful seems like such a silly word…but it spoke to me, Simon. It is how I like to live. thank you for validation, today.

  • Anibal Mandatori

    I loved this! Really inspirational… I’d like to share it with my friends, but’d need Spanish subtitles. If anybody knows where I can find them please let me know. Thank you!

  • Jackie

    VERY VALUABLE!

  • Craig
  • Sokol Thaci

    So true…! I Think that anyone who listened this will go back and think about actions that they tok and will judge them…! 

  • Tina

    Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  • Sadiq

    The best video i have seen on this page. I am really touched.

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