A biography for Simon Sinekhasn’t been written yet.
“I love science fiction - always have.”
“Good listeners have a huge advantage. For one, when they engage in conversation, they make people 'feel' heard. They 'feel' that someone really understands their wants, needs and desires. And for good reason; a good listener does care to understand.”
“Corporate culture matters. How management chooses to treat its people impacts everything - for better or for worse.”
“If you want to be a great leader, remember to treat all people with respect at all times. For one, because you never know when you'll need their help. And two, because it's a sign you respect people, which all great leaders do.”
“Sometimes spending time with someone who is perceived as 'successful' can make us feel less successful.”
“I know there's a difference between being successful and feeling successful. And if you ask me if I feel successful, the honest answer is 'not yet.'”
“The world is a bell curve. Classroom test scores, employee performance in a company or how many people really, really like you. No matter the population you're studying, they always fit neatly across the standard deviations of the famous bell curve.”
“It's important to slow down, every now and then, for no other reason than to call someone to say 'Hi.' It doesn't have to be a long conversation. Just calling out of the blue does more to let someone know you still care about them than nearly anything else.”
“Like a good parent can't also be his child's best friend, a leader with authority requires some separation from subordinates.”
“Leaders who fail are the ones who do it by themselves. Leaders who succeed are the ones who allow others to help them.”
“Bad leaders believe that they have to project control at all times.”
“The strong bond of friendship is not always a balanced equation; friendship is not always about giving and taking in equal shares. Instead, friendship is grounded in a feeling that you know exactly who will be there for you when you need something, no matter what or when.”
“Academic experts may not be good at doing what they are experts in themselves, but they are good at explaining the subject matter to others. They write books, teach courses and offer lessons and give steps others can follow.”
“One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader's need to be both stubborn and open-minded. A leader must insist on sticking to the vision and stay on course to the destination. But he must be open-minded during the process.”
“In the military, they give medals for people who are willing to sacrifice themselves so that others may survive. In business, we give bonuses to people who sacrifice others.”
“If we care about the average working American, then Wal-Mart matters. A lot.”
“Spending too much time focused on others' strengths leaves us feeling weak. Focusing on our own strengths is what, in fact, makes us strong.”
“There's nothing efficient about innovation.”
“More information is always better than less. When people know the reason things are happening, even if it's bad news, they can adjust their expectations and react accordingly. Keeping people in the dark only serves to stir negative emotions.”
“Multi-millionaires who pay half or less than half of the percentage of tax the rest of us pay justify their actions by saying they pay what the law requires. Though true, the fact is they found ways within the law to beat the purpose of the law - which, in the case of taxes, is that we all pay our fair share.”