Start With Why

Part 5 centers around the theme of Prioritizing the Golden Circle, emphasizing that staying true to the “why” leads to Enduring Versus Fleeting Success. These chapters also serve as a reminder that while innovation and passion are essential to an organization’s success, they must be coupled with a well-defined “how” to ensure sustainable growth and meaningful impact. Sinek continues to use practical, real-world examples to convey the importance of striking a balance between visionary ideals and pragmatic strategies for long-term prosperity. In Chapter 11, Sinek cites Volkswagen and Walmart as examples of how companies can lose their way when they lose sight of their original purpose. Volkswagen, known for affordable, reliable cars symbolizing freedom, stumbled when it introduced the expensive VW Phaeton, straying from its core “why” and experiencing poor sales as a result. Similarly, Walmart’s single-minded focus on low prices damaged relationships with suppliers, employees, and communities, directly contradicting the company’s original “why.” According to Sinek, their “WHY went fuzzy” (199). Walmart and Volkswagen both serve as cautionary tales of what can happen when organizations disregard the golden circle and move away from their original purpose.

In Chapter 12, Sinek focuses on the lifecycle of companies, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between the passion-driven “why” and the practical “how.” Passion fuels innovation and risky ventures, but for a company to achieve Enduring Versus Fleeting Success, it must also have structures and strategies that enable it to follow through on its “why.” Prioritizing the Golden Circle does not mean neglecting “how” and “what”; it means starting with “why” and moving from the inside out.

Ironically, this prioritization becomes increasingly challenging as companies become more successful and grow. When decision-making is spread between more and more people, the “why” often gets blurry and stops informing decisions. Instead, people use the more concrete “what” to guide their thoughts and actions. At this point, something Sinek terms a “split” occurs: What a company does no longer aligns with its core beliefs, it loses sight of the long term, and the initial passion fades. The company may continue to operate, but it can no longer be called truly successful, Sinek implies, because it is no longer influential. Companies that start with “what” and move inward, reversing the order of the golden circle, will never be able to inspire others to act.

Sinek also gestures to the theme of Effective Leadership when he discusses succession within organizations. A split often occurs, Sinek says, when a company passes from one leader to the next. His anecdote about Microsoft underscores that splits can happen even when the first leader is highly charismatic and “why”-driven. Bill Gates was such a leader, but he was unable to clearly articulate his “why” to others, so when he stepped down, the company floundered. Effective new leaders, Sinek stresses, do not impose their own vision when they take over; rather, they embrace the company’s original “why” and use that as their compass—and they cannot do so if they don’t understand what the original “why” is. Sinek provocatively suggests that leadership doesn’t end when someone new takes over; it is the predecessor’s responsibility to clearly communicate the “why” so that the new leader can continue to fulfill the original vision.