Blog #33: 9 Inspiring Messages from Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek gave his best yesterday in Amsterdam and I had the pleasure to listen to him, live! He stood there on that huge podium being himself, sharing clear messages in all modesty. He gave examples in EUR and wondered how much two feet would be in meter. He has showed us in many ways he takes care of his audience.

We all have received his latest book ‘The Infinite Game’, where he brings an original perspective to business: “No one has ever been declared the winner of business. There is no finishing line. There is no such thing as winning, however businesses claim to be the number one, to be the best…”.

He is an eloquent speaker, we all know that, but he brings also some humour into his speech which makes it really a complete experience when listening to him. I am more than happy to share nine inspiring messages I took away from yesterday:

Message 1: “My rival reveals my weaknesses”

Worthy rivals hold up the mirror to do better. Rivalry is ok as the goal is constant improvement and not winning, as in the infinite game there is no such thing as winning.

You can put yourself out of business if you refuse to compete. You compete in a healthy way by checking how you can improve your business.

Simon gave the example of taking a taxi in New York City: “When I order Uber I get a clean car with a nice driver. When I order a regular taxi, the service is below standard.”

What can you learn from your rival?

Message 2: “It is better you blow up your own business instead of somebody else” 

In his book he calls this "a capacity for existential flexibility", an essential ingredient for the infinite game. A business needs to be able to do a profound strategical shift when the circumstances change. It is not sustainable to protect a business model at the expense of advancing the just cause of your organisation.

For example: KODAK had the knowledge and competence to build a digital camera ten years before their rivals could. They preferred to take the income of the patents they had for producing a digital camera, rather than thinking long term and realizing the dream that everybody could have a digital camera.

How come Kindle has not been invented by the book industry? How come Netflix has not been invented by the TV industry? How come Spotify has not been invented by the music industry?

Message 3: “I rather have a highly trustworthy person on my team with a mediocre performance than a high performer with a low trust level”

Trusting teams are essential to play the infinite game. How come we have many ways to track performance but hardly any to measure trust? I rather have a highly trustworthy person on my team with a mediocre performance than a high performer with a low trust level. However, we promote and reward high performance everywhere and encourage it in most of the businesses, without linking it to trust.

Message 4: “ - Do you love your wife? - I like her a lot.”

Loving is different from liking. Do you like your job or do you love your job? Do you like your partner or do you love him or her?

If you have your team members saying spontaneously ‘I love my job’, just like the barista Simon met at a hotel did, you have a different story. The barista told him that he also works at a different hotel where the bosses are completely different. They check if you do something wrong, they control and punish. The barista just works over there because he needs the money...

Message 5: “How to create an environment where everybody can be at their best?”

Like in the example of the barista: one person, two different leadership styles. Leaders create the context people florish in or not. Leaders are responsible to build environments where people are comfortable being vulnerable. This means a place, where people are ok admitting they have a made a mistake, where they feel safe to say that they are having trouble at home, where people ask for help… without fear.

If that is not the case people will lie and hide and fake. They will pretend that they know what they are doing. They will be more afraid of breaking the rules than doing the right thing.

Message 6: “Do not mix up goals with vision”

According to Simon Sinek, you need both, goals and a vision, but there needs to be a clear difference: “Achieving x % growth by 2020” is not a vision, it is a goal. A goal is short term, a vision is long term. “You cannot run a marathon without goals”. “Metrics are there to guide you”, he continues, “but how many books I write or how many events I do per year, I do not care, I want momentum.”

Message 7: “Early adopters are your best friends”

Simon described the importance of the Law of diffusion of innovation. This law explains that when an innovation occurs you have a limited group of innovators who go for the new thing immediately, followed by the early adopters. Together they consist of around 15 to 18 % of the population. This starts to be a sustainable mass for the innovation to find its way through. The rest of the population consists of the early and late majority, they really do not want to try something new and finally the leggards who only will adopt something new when they have to.

Early adopters are committed even when some effort is required to be part of the new thing. They are your best friends to start with when you come with a new idea.

Message 8: “I am optimistic about Gen Z, they are activists”

“The baby boomers screwed up big time. They were hippies but free love became not so free.”

Gen Z are activists, they do things, they do not stick to tweeting , they actually organise rallies and strikes. Simon is optimistic about their leadership skills once they move into the work place.

Message 9: “You need to give your mind time to float”

Creativity needs time and space. Blocking personal time in your agenda and sticking to it, is essential to come up with ideas. And treat that time as a priority as well, it is not buffer time that can be eaten by urgent meetings.

In summary, 9 inspiring messages from Simon Sinek:

Message 1: “My rival reveals my weaknesses”

Message 2: “It is better you blow up your own business instead of somebody else” 

Message 3: “I rather have a highly trustworthy person on my team with a mediocre performance than a high performer with a low trust level”

Message 4: “ - Do you love your wife? - I like her a lot.”

Message 5: “How to create an environment where everybody can be at their best?”

Message 6: “Do not mix up goals with vision”

Message 7: “Early adopters are your best friends”

Message 8: “I am optimistic about Gen Z, they are activists”

Message 9: “You need to give your mind time to float”

This is my 33rd blog to inspire you.

Now, it is your turn. Please answer the question below:

Which of these messages inspires you the most?

I believe in the principle of â€˜first give’, I would like to confirm that intention, I have a present for you when you leave a comment below: a VIP ticket to my live training “Boost Your Vacancies”, December 2nd 2019 in Leuven, for a value of 1497 EUR. (*I only ask for a contribution cost of 66,50 EUR).

In this training:

? You get practical ready to use tips and tools to attract more candidates.

? You will learn how to shorten your time to fill.

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? You will go home with a concrete action plan to build your hiring strategy for 2020.

? You will receive it all without investment (other than the cost of 66,50 EUR) and you get a fun and interactive experience on top!

Thanks a lot for reading till the end and I am looking forward to read your reactions.??

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Looking forward to hearing from you.

Up to Solving Your People Challenges!

Katherina 

Co-Wings, Using Everybody's Wings to Fly!

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About Katherina Swings

An inspirational connector, a multi-lingual contributor with international (working and living) experience, an inspirational speaker, a seasoned HR person with two decades of corporate experience, an experienced change manager with business savvy, a creative writer, a certified professional learning facilitator, a certified inclusive leadership trainer, a multi-cultural networker, an active listener…

My vision is to create a positive world by connecting people who discover each other’s strengths.

My mission is to support 10 000 managers worldwide to become (more) in-clusive.

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