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Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
4.0
I’ve wanted to read “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek for a while, ever since one of my ex-boyfriends told me about it. My ex is an executive at a Big Five Canadian bank. At that time, he was preparing a presentation for C-level executives in his company, and he was raving about this book, but he couldn’t explain well WHY it was so great that everybody had to read it. (If you are reading this, just so you know, you should work on your book reviewing skills).
Sinek is the author of five books including “Start with Why.” He is a very well-known motivational speaker and organizational consultant. He also teaches Strategic Communications at Columbia University. His Ted Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” is the third most-watched TED.com with over 40 million views. I love to watch Sinek talk. He is a brilliant and inspiring speaker. He wants to inspire other people to do what inspires them. Whatever story he tells, I will listen to. That’s why I was so surprised that my feelings about his book could be at best described as conflicted.
On the one hand, “Start with Why” gives an interesting perspective on leadership from an ideological and marketing standpoint. It also provides a very thought-provoking insight into the human brain and talks about motivation and psychology of our decision making. “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it,” writes Sinek. The values of the company have to align with those of its clients to bring loyalty and drive sales. This is the only way for sustainable growth.
On the other hand, “Start with Why” got repetitive very quickly. About the first third of the book was impressive, the rest of the first half was ok, but the second half of the book was boring.
Dear Simon, how many times do you think you need to repeat “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it”? I’ve got it the first time you said it. The second time was ok. Maybe you wanted to reinforce the point. However, then you go on and on saying the same phrase again and again. Moreover, how many times can one use Apple as an example of an inspiring company with a very loyal following?
In “Start with Why,” Sinek provides many examples to illustrate his point. Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Motorola, Starbucks, Walmart, Costco, Southwest Airlines, the Wright brothers, Martin Luther King, and more. However, my problem with that is that those are the most popular and the most basic business cases you learn in your business or marketing classes in college. This book is written primarily with CEOs and other executives in mind, and they already know these stories very well. You don’t even have to get an MBA to understand them. Another issue is that the book is written in a too simple language with short sentences and phrases as if it’s meant to children, and I don’t understand why. The audience is capable of reading prose in a more complex language.
When he speaks, Sinek is a compelling storyteller. If you are not familiar with the cases mentioned above, I suggest you read the book. At least, the first half until you get bored. However, if you are familiar with them or want to save your time, you are better off watching his TED Talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4 That will be an excellent use of 18 minutes of your time.
Quotes
In the end, a few interesting quotes from the book as food for thought.
When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.
Henry Ford said, “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
Costco’s CEO Jim Sinegal about analysts when they criticized him for paying the employees more than average market wage. “Wall Street is in the business of making money between now and next Tuesday… We are in the business of building an organization, an institution that we hope will be here fifty years from now. And paying good wages and keeping people working with you is very good business.”
Companies with a clear sense of WHY tend to ignore their competition, whereas those with a fuzzy sense of WHY are obsessed with what others are doing.
People who come to work with a clear sense of WHY are less prone to giving up after a few failures because they understand the higher cause. Thomas Edison, a man, definitely driven by a higher cause, said, “I didn’t find a way to make a lightbulb, I found a thousand ways how not to make one.”
Sinek is the author of five books including “Start with Why.” He is a very well-known motivational speaker and organizational consultant. He also teaches Strategic Communications at Columbia University. His Ted Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” is the third most-watched TED.com with over 40 million views. I love to watch Sinek talk. He is a brilliant and inspiring speaker. He wants to inspire other people to do what inspires them. Whatever story he tells, I will listen to. That’s why I was so surprised that my feelings about his book could be at best described as conflicted.
On the one hand, “Start with Why” gives an interesting perspective on leadership from an ideological and marketing standpoint. It also provides a very thought-provoking insight into the human brain and talks about motivation and psychology of our decision making. “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it,” writes Sinek. The values of the company have to align with those of its clients to bring loyalty and drive sales. This is the only way for sustainable growth.
On the other hand, “Start with Why” got repetitive very quickly. About the first third of the book was impressive, the rest of the first half was ok, but the second half of the book was boring.
Dear Simon, how many times do you think you need to repeat “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it”? I’ve got it the first time you said it. The second time was ok. Maybe you wanted to reinforce the point. However, then you go on and on saying the same phrase again and again. Moreover, how many times can one use Apple as an example of an inspiring company with a very loyal following?
In “Start with Why,” Sinek provides many examples to illustrate his point. Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Motorola, Starbucks, Walmart, Costco, Southwest Airlines, the Wright brothers, Martin Luther King, and more. However, my problem with that is that those are the most popular and the most basic business cases you learn in your business or marketing classes in college. This book is written primarily with CEOs and other executives in mind, and they already know these stories very well. You don’t even have to get an MBA to understand them. Another issue is that the book is written in a too simple language with short sentences and phrases as if it’s meant to children, and I don’t understand why. The audience is capable of reading prose in a more complex language.
When he speaks, Sinek is a compelling storyteller. If you are not familiar with the cases mentioned above, I suggest you read the book. At least, the first half until you get bored. However, if you are familiar with them or want to save your time, you are better off watching his TED Talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4 That will be an excellent use of 18 minutes of your time.
Quotes
In the end, a few interesting quotes from the book as food for thought.
When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.
Henry Ford said, “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
Costco’s CEO Jim Sinegal about analysts when they criticized him for paying the employees more than average market wage. “Wall Street is in the business of making money between now and next Tuesday… We are in the business of building an organization, an institution that we hope will be here fifty years from now. And paying good wages and keeping people working with you is very good business.”
Companies with a clear sense of WHY tend to ignore their competition, whereas those with a fuzzy sense of WHY are obsessed with what others are doing.
People who come to work with a clear sense of WHY are less prone to giving up after a few failures because they understand the higher cause. Thomas Edison, a man, definitely driven by a higher cause, said, “I didn’t find a way to make a lightbulb, I found a thousand ways how not to make one.”
The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
5.0
Book Review: “The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk
I never talk in absolutes, especially when it comes to books. What one person will like and rave about to everybody they know, another person will find irrelevant and hate. So, I usually exercise caution when giving my recommendations. However, there is no place for caution with “The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk. It’s an absolute must-read! Even better, listen to the audiobook. That’s what I did, and it’s always fun to listen to Gary talk.
If you are a marketing professional, a business owner, an entrepreneur, you should have read this book and keep it on your bookshelf to refer to it later and reread it. No matter who you are, if you live now and have a social media account, you must read it. And if you say you don’t have one, I’m sorry, where are you reading this post now? Chances are you are not on my blog but on one of the social media platforms where I publish it as well.
The book is very well written and very well researched, with numerous cases and hands-on experiences from other successful entrepreneurs and Gary himself. And luckily for me, those are not the same cases, and the same research that migrated from one business book to another and makes reading them particularly boring, at least for me.
What blows my mind is that Gary wrote this book in summer 2010 and recorded the audiobook in summer 2011. (The audiobook has some updated data that Gary provided of the script). He was able to see what social media platforms are going to become now nine years ago! And still, his advice is timeless and relevant.
Another thing that surprises me is that big businesses had nine years to read The Thank You Economy and implement Gary’s ideas in their social media strategy. Do you think they have done it? The answer for most of them is a big resounding NO.
Just take a look at Twitter or Instagram accounts of major US or Canadian banks. I know what I’m talking about because I’ve been looking there for the last couple of weeks.
This is a direct quote from the book.
“The Biggest Mistakes Companies Make with Social Media
1. Using tactics instead of strategy
2. Using it exclusively to put out fires
3. Using it to brag
4. Using it as a press release
5. Exclusively retweeting other people’s material rather than creating your own original content
6. Using it to push product
7. Expecting immediate results”
US and Canadian banks are making all of them. It’s as if this list of mistakes is actually pinned to their walls as a checklist on what to do on social media every day.
Please take your time and read this book. I haven’t read in a long time something so eye-opening and that I enjoyed so much.
A couple of quotes in the end.
1. If your view of social media is so tunnel-visioned that all you care about are the number of fans or retweets or views you’re garnering, you are missing the whole point.
2. Playboy Corporate America. Corporate America is rewarded for hookups and one-night stands, and that’s how much respect most corporations show toward their customers. Don’t hate the player; hate the game.
I never talk in absolutes, especially when it comes to books. What one person will like and rave about to everybody they know, another person will find irrelevant and hate. So, I usually exercise caution when giving my recommendations. However, there is no place for caution with “The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk. It’s an absolute must-read! Even better, listen to the audiobook. That’s what I did, and it’s always fun to listen to Gary talk.
If you are a marketing professional, a business owner, an entrepreneur, you should have read this book and keep it on your bookshelf to refer to it later and reread it. No matter who you are, if you live now and have a social media account, you must read it. And if you say you don’t have one, I’m sorry, where are you reading this post now? Chances are you are not on my blog but on one of the social media platforms where I publish it as well.
The book is very well written and very well researched, with numerous cases and hands-on experiences from other successful entrepreneurs and Gary himself. And luckily for me, those are not the same cases, and the same research that migrated from one business book to another and makes reading them particularly boring, at least for me.
What blows my mind is that Gary wrote this book in summer 2010 and recorded the audiobook in summer 2011. (The audiobook has some updated data that Gary provided of the script). He was able to see what social media platforms are going to become now nine years ago! And still, his advice is timeless and relevant.
Another thing that surprises me is that big businesses had nine years to read The Thank You Economy and implement Gary’s ideas in their social media strategy. Do you think they have done it? The answer for most of them is a big resounding NO.
Just take a look at Twitter or Instagram accounts of major US or Canadian banks. I know what I’m talking about because I’ve been looking there for the last couple of weeks.
This is a direct quote from the book.
“The Biggest Mistakes Companies Make with Social Media
1. Using tactics instead of strategy
2. Using it exclusively to put out fires
3. Using it to brag
4. Using it as a press release
5. Exclusively retweeting other people’s material rather than creating your own original content
6. Using it to push product
7. Expecting immediate results”
US and Canadian banks are making all of them. It’s as if this list of mistakes is actually pinned to their walls as a checklist on what to do on social media every day.
Please take your time and read this book. I haven’t read in a long time something so eye-opening and that I enjoyed so much.
A couple of quotes in the end.
1. If your view of social media is so tunnel-visioned that all you care about are the number of fans or retweets or views you’re garnering, you are missing the whole point.
2. Playboy Corporate America. Corporate America is rewarded for hookups and one-night stands, and that’s how much respect most corporations show toward their customers. Don’t hate the player; hate the game.
Worry-Free Money: The guilt-free approach to managing your money and your life by Shannon Lee Simmons
If I could give this book endless negative stars, I totally would. Alas, there is no such option on Goodreads. I read this book till about 23%. Every page was a struggle, and I DNF. I flipped through the rest of the book, and no, it didn’t get any better.
It’s been a really long time since a book rubbed me the wrong way so much. This started from the first page and didn’t end. At one point, the author uses F-word at every other sentence of one of the chapters. And I cringe. I hate when people swear.
To sum up my feelings about this book: WHAT she says is wrong, and HOW she says it is even more wrong. On top of that, I looked up the author on LinkedIn and on her website, and I have very strong doubts in her having the necessary knowledge and experience to advise anything to anybody, let alone writing a book about money.
I don’t know the author personally, but she is a colleague here in Toronto, Canada. We work exactly in the same field. I have a lot of compassion and empathy for all people, and even more so for women in finance. It’s an old boys’ club, no matter if somebody tells you otherwise. I really wanted to be kind, but I just can’t. And it makes me very sad.
Before you follow somebody’s advice, figure out if they are the right person to ask. Please research if they have knowledge, experience, and education to even give any advice to you.
I could have said a lot more, and maybe I will. But I want to stop right here for now. If you want to read about money, please read something else, just not this book.
It’s been a really long time since a book rubbed me the wrong way so much. This started from the first page and didn’t end. At one point, the author uses F-word at every other sentence of one of the chapters. And I cringe. I hate when people swear.
To sum up my feelings about this book: WHAT she says is wrong, and HOW she says it is even more wrong. On top of that, I looked up the author on LinkedIn and on her website, and I have very strong doubts in her having the necessary knowledge and experience to advise anything to anybody, let alone writing a book about money.
I don’t know the author personally, but she is a colleague here in Toronto, Canada. We work exactly in the same field. I have a lot of compassion and empathy for all people, and even more so for women in finance. It’s an old boys’ club, no matter if somebody tells you otherwise. I really wanted to be kind, but I just can’t. And it makes me very sad.
Before you follow somebody’s advice, figure out if they are the right person to ask. Please research if they have knowledge, experience, and education to even give any advice to you.
I could have said a lot more, and maybe I will. But I want to stop right here for now. If you want to read about money, please read something else, just not this book.
MacRieve by Kresley Cole
5.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Can somebody explain me why I marked this book with only four stars the first few times I read it? What was wrong with me???
I really enjoyed this book. To me, somehow it seems even more tragic than the second book about Will’s cousin Lachlain and his mate Emma. I know both Lachlain and Will suffered so much in the hands of the species to which their mates belonged. But what was done to Will when he was just a child, when he hadn’t been frozen into immortality, when he could have died so easily if only his beast hadn’t been so strong... it’s beyond words. My heart broke for him and for his family, but also for poor unsuspecting Chloe. Can you imagine growing up as a mortal, a regular human, playing soccer professionally, being her daddy’s little girl, knowing that her mom died from cancer, thinking that all the mythical creatures don’t exist, that the fairy-tales are not real... only to find out that everything, everything she knew was wrong, that she is in great danger, that the only person who showed her any kindness when her world turned upside down would hate her guts and seriously consider torturing and killing her the moment he finds out what she became. I don’t know how you can even survive all this change without going insane... And if you do... how can you live with yourself when you fall in love for the person who showed you kindness, saved you, and now genuinely hates you... and you find out the reasons why.
I’ve read this book two or three times already, I knew what’s going to happen... Yet it floors and amazes me every time when I read it again and remember everything they have to go through. It’s literally like rebreaking all your bones at the same time and waiting for them to heal properly while burning in fire and then rising from ashes like a phoenix.
I really want to know if Chloe and Will ever have kids, what they would be like. Would they be more like Lykae or succubi/incubi? How would they get along with their first and second cousins (children of Lachlain and Emma and Munro and Ren)? Most importantly, what would their great-aunt, protovalkyrie and hopefully a goddess of Accession by then, Nix give them as presents for Christmas, birthdays, and any other holidays? Will the little kids team up and play soccer under Chloe’s supervision?
But before that, I really need books about Munro and Ren and my most favourite Nix and whoever she is supposed to be with (Orion, anyone???). I need them like a year ago. And even though I know the series would probably end with Nix’s book, I still want to read it more than anything also. Also, can we have a spin-off series including the new generation of immortals and their lives after the last Accession?
P.S. I usually do not like werewolf stories. They are not my thing. It’s not that I don’t read books about them. I love paranormal romance; I’ve just read so much of it last year that I took a very long break from it reading other versions of romance. But it’s still my favourite genre. I just don’t like the whole fur, ripping clothes, breaking bones and turning process, and inability to control anything during the full moon. And I don’t even know why. I like humans, I like supernatural creatures, and I like animals. It’s just when all this is combined in one creature, I somehow don’t like them so much. If I have to choose between evil vampires and kind werewolves, the asshole-vampires will win for me every time. But Lykae... Oh, Lykae is a whole another story. Those sexy, tall, dark and handsome creatures, so strong, so intelligent, so curious, revering their mates above all and needing too touch so much to express affection. Well, my evil vampires have just got their biggest competition for the top spot. And if you ask me who is my favourite, I may still say, an evil vampire. But if you ask me who I would want to date... well, a gorgeous touchy-feely ever curious Lykae it will be, even if he is out of his mind crazy. Somehow, their turning or letting their Beast out of the cage doesn’t scare me. It excites me, and it’s probably the only kind of shifter-/werewolf-like creatures that I genuinely like because their is no scary furry bits and pieces involved. Seriously, as much as I like vampires and have such an affinity with them because of my stupid migraines (oh, I know full well I would love to live in the dark somewhere in the dungeon, the sun already hurts my eyes, I’m extremely allergic to silver, and at times I want to go dental on other humans...) How can you not want a Lykae mate who cannot keep his hands off you, treats you like the most precious thing in the whole world, will never ever cheat you, as you are their whole reason for existence, right?
Can somebody explain me why I marked this book with only four stars the first few times I read it? What was wrong with me???
I really enjoyed this book. To me, somehow it seems even more tragic than the second book about Will’s cousin Lachlain and his mate Emma. I know both Lachlain and Will suffered so much in the hands of the species to which their mates belonged. But what was done to Will when he was just a child, when he hadn’t been frozen into immortality, when he could have died so easily if only his beast hadn’t been so strong... it’s beyond words. My heart broke for him and for his family, but also for poor unsuspecting Chloe. Can you imagine growing up as a mortal, a regular human, playing soccer professionally, being her daddy’s little girl, knowing that her mom died from cancer, thinking that all the mythical creatures don’t exist, that the fairy-tales are not real... only to find out that everything, everything she knew was wrong, that she is in great danger, that the only person who showed her any kindness when her world turned upside down would hate her guts and seriously consider torturing and killing her the moment he finds out what she became. I don’t know how you can even survive all this change without going insane... And if you do... how can you live with yourself when you fall in love for the person who showed you kindness, saved you, and now genuinely hates you... and you find out the reasons why.
I’ve read this book two or three times already, I knew what’s going to happen... Yet it floors and amazes me every time when I read it again and remember everything they have to go through. It’s literally like rebreaking all your bones at the same time and waiting for them to heal properly while burning in fire and then rising from ashes like a phoenix.
I really want to know if Chloe and Will ever have kids, what they would be like. Would they be more like Lykae or succubi/incubi? How would they get along with their first and second cousins (children of Lachlain and Emma and Munro and Ren)? Most importantly, what would their great-aunt, protovalkyrie and hopefully a goddess of Accession by then, Nix give them as presents for Christmas, birthdays, and any other holidays? Will the little kids team up and play soccer under Chloe’s supervision?
But before that, I really need books about Munro and Ren and my most favourite Nix and whoever she is supposed to be with (Orion, anyone???). I need them like a year ago. And even though I know the series would probably end with Nix’s book, I still want to read it more than anything also. Also, can we have a spin-off series including the new generation of immortals and their lives after the last Accession?
P.S. I usually do not like werewolf stories. They are not my thing. It’s not that I don’t read books about them. I love paranormal romance; I’ve just read so much of it last year that I took a very long break from it reading other versions of romance. But it’s still my favourite genre. I just don’t like the whole fur, ripping clothes, breaking bones and turning process, and inability to control anything during the full moon. And I don’t even know why. I like humans, I like supernatural creatures, and I like animals. It’s just when all this is combined in one creature, I somehow don’t like them so much. If I have to choose between evil vampires and kind werewolves, the asshole-vampires will win for me every time. But Lykae... Oh, Lykae is a whole another story. Those sexy, tall, dark and handsome creatures, so strong, so intelligent, so curious, revering their mates above all and needing too touch so much to express affection. Well, my evil vampires have just got their biggest competition for the top spot. And if you ask me who is my favourite, I may still say, an evil vampire. But if you ask me who I would want to date... well, a gorgeous touchy-feely ever curious Lykae it will be, even if he is out of his mind crazy. Somehow, their turning or letting their Beast out of the cage doesn’t scare me. It excites me, and it’s probably the only kind of shifter-/werewolf-like creatures that I genuinely like because their is no scary furry bits and pieces involved. Seriously, as much as I like vampires and have such an affinity with them because of my stupid migraines (oh, I know full well I would love to live in the dark somewhere in the dungeon, the sun already hurts my eyes, I’m extremely allergic to silver, and at times I want to go dental on other humans...) How can you not want a Lykae mate who cannot keep his hands off you, treats you like the most precious thing in the whole world, will never ever cheat you, as you are their whole reason for existence, right?