So I'm embarrassed that I have a career. I talk about things like trust and cooperation, and there should be no demand for my work. But the fact of the matter is, there is demand for my work, which means that there's an opportunity. It means that trust and cooperation are not yet standard in our organizations, and yet they should be. And we know that, which is why we're looking for ways to bring those things to our organizations. So I thought I would do something a little different today. You know when you're speaking to tens of thousands of people and you have the opportunity to share a message? Of course, most rational people would say, let's go with something I've talked about lots of times, and I'm really good at, but I'm not normal. So I'm going to do something completely new, and I hope this works out.
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[Simon Sinek] Most Leaders Don't Even Know the Game They're In Simon Sinek
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Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek challenges traditional leadership, emphasizing empathy and perspective as leaders' true responsibilities. He reveals why many managers struggle by focusing on control rather than care and explores how understanding millennials' unique challenges reshapes effective leadership for trust and cooperation in modern organizations.
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“But the fact of the matter is, there is demand for my work, which means that there's an opportunity. It means that trust and cooperation are not yet standard in our organizations, and yet they should be.”
“'And that's why we get managers and not leaders, because the reason our managers are micromanaging us is because they actually do know how to do the job better than us. That's what got them promoted. Really what we have to do is go through a transition... we have to go through this transition of being responsible for the job and then turning into somebody who's now responsible for the people who are responsible for the job... one of the great things that is lacking in most of our companies is that they are not teaching us how to lead. And leadership is a skill like any other.'”
“You get nothing for coming in last, and your parents cannot help you get a promotion. And in an instant, their entire self image is completely shattered. In an instant, the way they view themselves has completely changed, turned on its head. And so what you find is that there's an entire generation growing up with lower self esteem than previous generations. Remember, they have grown up in an Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat world in which they are very, very good at putting filters on everything.”
“When they're struggling or stressed, they're turning to social media or their cell phones. Their self worth sometimes becomes wrapped up in how many likes they get. They obsessively check how many likes, how many likes, how many likes? And actually will get depressed if they don't get any.”
“And as they have told me, many of them will admit that they struggle to form deep, meaningful relationships. They will admit that many of their friendships are superficial, right? That their friends, they know, would cancel on them if they get a better plan, that they wouldn't really know who to talk to if they get depressed. And maybe they'll turn to an online support group, which is not a real thing. It's not human, right? And we've seen the impact of this. We're starting to see rises of depression in this generation. We're starting to see rise of suicide in this generation. We're starting to see a rise of accidental deaths due to drug overdose from this generation. Universities are currently dealing with an epidemic that they've never dealt with before, which is the number of kids requesting leaves of absence due to depression.”
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There are two things that I think that great leaders need to have empathy and perspective. And I think these things are very often forgotten. Leaders are so often so concerned about their status or their position in an organization, they actually forget their real job. And the real job of a leader is not about being in charge, it's about taking care of those in our charge. And I don't think people realize this, and I don't think people train for this. When we're junior, our only responsibility is to be good at our jobs. That's all we really have to do. And some people actually go get advanced educations so that they can be really good at their jobs.
Accountants or whatever, right? And you show up and you work hard, and the company will give us tons and tons of training how to do our jobs. They'll show us how to use the software. They'll send us away for a few days to get trained in whatever it is that we're doing for the company. And then they expect us to go be good at our jobs. And that's what we do. We work very hard. And if you're good at your job, they'll promote you, and at some point you'll get promoted to a position where we're now responsible for the people who do the job we used to do. But nobody shows us how to do that.
And that's why we get managers and not leaders, because the reason our managers are micromanaging us is because they actually do know how to do the job better than us. That's what got them promoted. Really what we have to do is go through a transition. Some people make it quickly, some people make it slowly. And unfortunately, some people will never make that transition. At all, which is we have to go through this transition of being responsible for the job and then turning into somebody who's now responsible for the people who are responsible for the job. And as I said before, one of the great things that is lacking in most of our companies is that they are not teaching us how to lead. And leadership is a skill like any other.
It is a practicable, learnable skill, and it is something that you work on. It's like a muscle. If you practice it all the days, you will get good at it and you will become a strong leader. If you stop practicing, you will become a weak leader. Like parenting, everyone has the capacity to be a parent. Doesn't mean everybody wants to be a parent and doesn't mean everybody should be a parent. Leadership is the same. We all have the capacity to be a leader.
Doesn't mean everybody should be a leader, and it doesn't mean everybody wants to be a leader. And the reason is because it comes at great personal sacrifice. Remember, you're not in charge. You're responsible for those in your charge. That means things like when everything goes right, you have to give away all the credit. And when everything goes wrong, you have to take all the responsibility. That sucks, right? It's things like staying late to show somebody what to do. It's things like when something does actually break, when something goes wrong, instead of yelling and screaming and taking over, you say, try again.
When the overwhelming pressures are not on them, the overwhelming pressures are on us. At the end of the day, great leaders are not responsible for the job. They're responsible for the people who are responsible for the job. They're not even responsible for the results. I love talking to CEO's and say, what's your priority? And they put their hands on their hips all proudly and say, my priority is my customer. I'm like, really? You haven't talked to a customer in 15 years. There's no CEO on the planet responsible for the customer. They're just not.
They're responsible for the people who are responsible for the people who are responsible for the customer. I'll tell you a true story. A few months ago, I stayed at the four Seasons in Las Vegas. It is a wonderful hotel. And the reason it's a wonderful hotel is not because of the fancy beds. Any hotel can go and buy a fancy bed. The reason it's a wonderful hotel is because of the people who work there. If you walk past somebody at the four Seasons and they say hello to you, you get the feeling that they actually wanted to say hello to you.
It's not that somebody told them that you have to say hello to all the customers, say hello to all the guests. You actually feel that they care. Now, in their lobby, they have a coffee stand. And one afternoon, I went to buy a cup of coffee, and there was a barista by the name of Noah who was serving me. Noah was fantastic. He was friendly and fun, and he was engaging with me. And I had so much fun buying a cup of coffee. I actually think I gave 100% tip right.
He was wonderful. So, as is my nature, I asked Noah, do you like your job? And without skipping a beat, Noah says, I love my job. And so I followed up. I said, what is it that the four Seasons is doing that would make you say to me, I love my job? And without skipping a beat, Noah said, throughout the day, managers will walk past me and ask me how I'm doing, if there's anything that I need to do my job better. He said, not just my manager, any manager. And then he said something magical. He says, I also work at Caesar's palace. At Caesar's palace, the managers are trying to make sure we're doing everything right.
They catch us when we do things wrong. He says, when I go to work there, I like to keep my head under the radar and just get through the day so I can get my paycheck. He says, here at the four Seasons, I feel I can be myself. Same person entirely, a different experience from the customer who will engage with Noah. So we in leadership are always criticizing the people. We're always saying, we've got to get the right people. On the bus, I've got to fill my team. I've got to get the right people.
But the reality is, it's not the people, it's the leadership. If we create the right environment, we will get people like Noah at the Four Seasons. If we create the wrong environment, we will get people like Noah. At Caesar's palace. It's not the people. And yet we're so quick to hire and fire. You can't hire and fire your children if your kids are struggling. We don't say, you got to see at school, you're up for adoption.
So why is it that when somebody has performance problems at work, why is it that our instinct is to say, you're out? We do not practice empathy. What does empathy look like? Here's the lack of empathy. This is normal in our business world. You walk into someone's office, someone walks into our office and says, your numbers have been down for the third quarter in a row. You have to pick up your numbers. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what the future will look like. How inspired do you think that person is to come to work the next day? Here's what empathy looks like. You walk into someone's office, someone walks into your office and says, your numbers are down for the third quarter in a row.
Are you okay? I'm worried about you. What's going on? We all have performance issues. Maybe someone's kid is sick. Maybe they're having problems in their marriage. Maybe one of their parents is dying. We don't know what's going on in their lives. And of course it will affect performance at work. Empathy is being concerned about the human being, not just their output.
And we have to practice empathy. And one of the groups that we are pretty bad at practicing empathy with is our young millennials. So let me show you what empathy looks like. Listening to understand, trying to understand someone's point of view and disposition. At 100% of the talks that I give or the meetings that I have, invariably someone will raise their hand and ask about the millennial problem. Apparently, this young generation is unleadable. Apparently, they have confounded every single company and every single industry. And so now it's at the point where companies have given up and are now just asking millennials, what do you want? And so they say, we want free food and bean bags.
And so now every company has free food and bean bags. And guess what? Nothing has changed. So what I thought we would do, what I thought I would do is show you what empathy looks like. How do we practice empathy with someone we don't understand? How do we practice empathy with an organization or a group that we're struggling with? Right. So we have to understand that. It breaks down to four things. I've broken it down into parenting, technology, impatience, and environment. Let's talk about parenting first.
Too many millennials have grown up subject to what has been described as a failed parenting strategy. Too many of them were told as they were growing up that they were special, that they can have whatever they want just because they want it. They got medals for coming in last. They got participation medals. Right? And the science on this is already good. We know that it devalues the feeling that somebody who works hard and comes in to first place, and it actually makes the person who comes in last embarrassed, because they know they don't deserve it. So it actually makes them feel worse. It actually doesn't help.
There are a lot of kids who got into honors classes not because they deserved it, but because their parents complained and they got a's, not because they earned them, but because the teachers didn't want to deal with the parents. Right. Then those kids graduate, and they'll go to and they start a job, and in an instant, they find out that they're not special, that you don't get anything just because you want it. You get nothing for coming in last, and your parents cannot help you get a promotion. And in an instant, their entire self image is completely shattered. In an instant, the way they view themselves has completely changed, turned on its head. And so what you find is that there's an entire generation growing up with lower self esteem than previous generations. Remember, they have grown up in an Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat world in which they are very, very good at putting filters on everything.
They're very, very good at curating how they want to be seen. And we think they're full of confidence. They seem to have all the answers. They seem to be telling us what to do. At the end of the day, it's just not there. It's just not true. It's just not true. Their confidence is a lot weaker than before.
They don't know where they're coming from. They don't know where they're going. They're unsure of themselves, and they lack the courage to ask. We say things like, my door is always open. Assuming that they have the courage to walk through the door. Number one. Then we add in technology. There's a chemical in our body called dopamine.
Dopamine is responsible for the feelings we get when we find something we're looking for or we accomplish something we set out to accomplish. You know that great feeling you get when you cross something off your to do list or when you win the game, when you hit the target. Right, win the client, get the promotion, whatever it is. That elation. Find your keys. That elation comes from a chemical in our body called dopamine. Right? Now, other substances, other things that release dopamine include alcohol, nicotine, gambling. That's what makes us feel good when we engage with those things.
And it's the root of all a lot of addiction. In fact, almost every alcoholic on the planet discovered alcohol when they were teenagers. You see, when we're very, very young, the only approval we need is approval from our parents. And then as we go through adolescence, we now crave the approval of our peers. Very frustrating for our parents, very important for us. It allows us to acculturate outside of our immediate families into the larger tribe. Very, very important, right? It's a time of high stress and high anxiety, and we're supposed to learn to rely on our friends. Some people, quite by accident, discover alcohol and the numbing effects of dopamine to help them cope with the stress.
And that becomes hardwired. And then for the rest of their lives, when they suffer some kind of extreme stress, they don't turn to a person, they turn to the bottle. Right. Now, we also know that dopamine is released with cell phones and social media. So that bing, baz, buzz, flash and beep that we get from our phones, that feels so good, it releases dopamine. We like getting it. Yes. We all hate all the emails, but we love the bing.
Right? We've all been in this position. You know, you're feeling a little bit down, you're feeling a little bit sorry, maybe feeling a little bit sad. And so what do we do? We send out ten texts to ten friends. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.
Hi. And we hope that they write back because it feels good. Right? So now we have a young generation with basically unfettered access to social media and cell phones. We have age restrictions on alcohol, we have age restrictions on smoking, and we have age restrictions on gambling. We have no age restrictions on this other dopamine producing device called social media or cell phones. It's the equivalent of throwing open the liquor cabinet and telling our young adolescents, I know this is a stressful time. Try the vodka. It'll get you through these hard times.
That's basically what we're doing. And so what's happening is it's becoming hardwired where our young generation isn't learning the coping skills and coping mechanisms to turn to another human being. When they're struggling or stressed, they're turning to social media or their cell phones. Their self worth sometimes becomes wrapped up in how many likes they get. They obsessively check how many likes, how many likes, how many likes? And actually will get depressed if they don't get any. You see them going out with their friends, and instead of connecting with their friends, they will simply sit and talk on the phone. Let me show you something that's really powerful. Can I borrow your phone, please? There's one right there in between.
You just let me borrow that for a sec. I'm asking you to give me somebody else's phone. You don't have to turn it on. I just need it. Thank you. So let me show you the subconscious power of this device. What if I were to hold my phone while I'm giving this presentation. I'm not checking it.
It's not buzzing. It's not beeping. I'm simply holding it. Do you feel like you're the most important thing to me right now? No, you do not. And this is an artificial environment. Now, think about how often this phone is out while we're talking to other people. Hey, boss, can I talk to you? Sure. What's on your mind? As opposed to, sure, what's on your mind? We go out for dinner or lunch with our family and our friends.
We have meetings, and we put the phone on the table, which sends a subconscious message to everybody else in the room that this is not that important to me. You're not that important to me. And by the way, putting your phone upside down is not more polite. This is my favorite one, where the phone rings in the middle of a dinner, in the middle of a lunch, in the middle of a meeting, and somebody goes, I'm not gonna answer it. Oh, my God. Just so magnanimous, right? Thank you. Right? Put it away. Keep it away.
Because what it does is it actually hurts our ability to relate to each other. Now, you look at young kids these days, they're on them all the time. I don't blame them. It is addiction. We yell and scream at them, but we. It's like yelling and screaming at an alcoholic. It doesn't help the fact that it's a chemical addiction, right? So you take an insecure generation that now, through no fault of their own, struggles to cope with stress. They don't know how to cope with and deal with stress.
And as they have told me, many of them will admit that they struggle to form deep, meaningful relationships. They will admit that many of their friendships are superficial, right? That their friends, they know, would cancel on them if they get a better plan, that they wouldn't really know who to talk to if they get depressed. And maybe they'll turn to an online support group, which is not a real thing. It's not human, right? And we've seen the impact of this. We're starting to see rises of depression in this generation. We're starting to see rise of suicide in this generation. We're starting to see a rise of accidental deaths due to drug overdose from this generation. Universities are currently dealing with an epidemic that they've never dealt with before, which is the number of kids requesting leaves of absence due to depression.
Right? Now, those are all extreme examples. The less extreme and more likely example is that someone will go through life just never really finding joy or fulfillment, and everything's just fine. How's your job? It's fine. How are your friends? You know, they're fine. But no joy, because you just cannot. Because joy, fulfillment comes from this. It comes from human interaction. We are social animals and we need it, and we have to learn to rely on our friends.
And that skill is desperately lacking. So you add in the next one. Impatience. This generation is often accused of being entitled. And if you've worked with any of them before, sure seems that way. But I would argue that we're misreading the tea leaves. They're not entitled. They're impatient.
Again, let's practice empathy. How did they grow up? They grew up in a world of instant gratification. You want to buy something, you go on Amazon. It shows up the next day. You want to watch a movie, you don't check movie times. You just log on and download it. Whenever you want to watch it, stream it, right? You want to watch a tv show, you don't wait week to week to week. You just binge watch for the weekend.
In fact, if you want to get a hold of somebody, you don't leave a message on their machine and wait 4 hours for them to get the message and call you back. You just text them and they'll get back to you. Literally, instantaneously. Heck, if you want to go on a date, you don't even have to be like, hey, you just swipe right, you got a date. Never learn the skill set of like, what are you doing? Right? You can have four dates in a night. In other words, everything comes instantaneously. They have falsely applied the instant gratification model to life fulfillment and career fulfillment. They want it all instantaneously.
The problem is life, relationships, career are not destinations. Like, look, I found the job I love. That's not how it works. It's not a scavenger hunt. I'm looking for the job that will. No, it doesn't work that way. It's a journey. It's the same with love.
It's like, I found love. No, you didn't. You work hard every single day to stay in love. It's a journey. It's as if they're standing at the foot of a mountain. They know exactly what they want. They can see the summit. What they don't see is the mountain.
I talk to some recent college grads who are in their entry level jobs on a regular basis, and I'll ask them things like, how's it going? And they'll say, yeah, I think I'm going to quit. I'm like, why? They're like, I'm not making an impact. I'm like, you know, you've been here eight months, right? And this is the problem. They see it as destination. I'm not making an impact. I hear it all the time. But they don't even know what that means. Impact.
Yes. We all want to make an impact. What kind of impact? What do you want to do? How do you want to contribute to the world? This is what vision is. This is what why is. It's become generic and abstract. But the problem is they're wafting around. They're looking for the right. They'll go from job to job to job, hoping that the next one sticks.
They go from relationship to relationship, hoping that the next one is the love that I've been looking for. They don't know how to ask for help. And it makes them feel even worse because they can't find the thing that they're looking for. Maybe it's me. So you have an insecure generation that doesn't have coping mechanisms, that wants everything resolved and resolved. Now I have a thought. Let me just send a text as opposed to, let me wait an hour when I'm done with lunch with you. And then I'll send my text, for example.
And then we get to the fourth and most egregious of the four environment. We're now taking this wonderful, smart, idealistic, ambitious, hard working, good group of people that were dealt a bad hand and we're putting them in corporate environments that do not care about them as human beings. Right? We have. For some reason, our work world has changed over the past 20 and 30 years. We are suffering the side effects of business theories left over from the eighties and nineties. And they are bad for people and they are bad for business. Let me give you an example. The concept of shareholder supremacy was a theory proposed in the late 1970s.
It was popularized in the eighties and nineties. It is now standard form. Today. You talk to any public company and you ask them their priority, and they say, maximize shareholder value. Really? That's like a coach prioritizing the needs of the fans over the needs of the players. How are you going to build a winning team with that model? But that's normal today. We don't even perceive it as broken or damaged or wrong or outdated. Remember, the eighties and nineties were boom years with relative peace and a kinder, gentler cold war.
Nobody was practicing hiding under their desks in school anymore. We are no longer in those times. These are no longer boom years. These are no longer peaceful times, and those models cannot work today. Here's another one. Mass layoffs. Using someone's livelihood to balance the books. Right? It's so normal in America today that we don't even understand how broken and how damaging it is not only to human beings, but to business.
You know, companies talk about how they want to build trust and cooperation, and they announce a round of layoffs. Do you know the quickest way to destroy trust and destroy cooperation in a business? Literally, in one day? Lay people off, and everyone gets scared. Right? Can you imagine sending someone home to say, honey, I can no longer provide for our family because the company missed its arbitrary projections this year. And forget about the people who lost their job. Think about the people who kept their jobs, because every single decision a company makes is a piece of communication, and the company has just communicated to everybody else, this is not a meritocracy. We don't care how hard you work or how long you've worked here. If we miss our numbers and you happen to fall on the wrong side of the spreadsheet, I'm sorry, we cannot guarantee employment. In other words, we come to work every day afraid.
And we're asking our youngest generation to work in environments where, how would any of us ever stand up and admit I made a mistake? We're constantly being told, you have to be vulnerable. Leaders are vulnerable. What does that even mean? It doesn't mean you walk around crying, I'm vulnerable, right? No, what vulnerability means is you create an environment in which someone feels. Feels safe enough to raise their hand and said, I don't know what I'm doing. You've given me a job, and I haven't been trained to do it. I need help. I made a mistake. I screwed something up.
I'm scared. I'm worried. All of these things, no one would ever admit inside a company because it puts a target on your head in case there's another round. And so we keep it to ourselves. And how can a company ever do well if nobody's ever willing to admit they made a mistake or they don't know what they're doing? And so we've literally created cultures in which every single day, everybody comes to work and lies, hides, and fakes. And we're asking our youngest generation to work and succeed and find themselves and build their confidence and overcome their addiction to technology and build strong relationships at work. We're asking them to do this. And these are the environments we've created.
We keep saying to them, you're the future leaders. We're the leaders now. We're in control. What are we doing? This is what empathy means. It means if there's an entire generation struggling, maybe it's not them. It's like, you know, the only thing that I. That the common factor in all my failed relationships, me. Same thing.
Well, we just can't get the right, you know, the right performance out of our people. Maybe it's you, right? It's not a generation. It's not them. They're not difficult or hard to understand. They're human beings like the rest of us, trying to find their way, trying to work in a place where they feel that someone cares about them as a human being, by the way. That's what we all want. In other words, it's not even generational. It's all of us.
This is the practice of empathy, that if we're struggling to communicate to someone, if we're struggling to help someone be at their natural best. I'm tired of people saying to me, how do I get the best out of my people? Really? That's what you want? They're like a towel. You just wring them. How can I get the most out of them? No, how do I help my people be at their natural best? Right? We're not asking these questions. We are not practicing empathy. We have to start by practicing empathy and relate to what they may be going through. And it will profoundly change the decisions we make. It will profoundly change the way we see the world.
Someone's driving to work, you're driving to work, and someone wants to cut into your lane. What do you do? Do you pull your car up? Do you let them in? Most of us pull our cars up and go like this. You wait your turn. Now let's practice empathy. I don't know, maybe they've been out of work for six months. Maybe they had trouble getting the kids out to school this morning, and now they're running late for a really important interview, and they just have to get to this interview and they're going to cut into our lane. Or maybe they're just a bastard, I don't know. But that's the point.
We don't know. We don't know. And the practice of empathy will say, I'll let them in and I'll arrive to work one car lengthly, right? We don't always have to be right. We don't always have to be in charge. We don't always have to be the one who succeeds. It's not about winning or losing. And that's where I go to the second point, after empathy, comes perspective, where it's not about winning or losing. In game theory, there are two kinds of games.
There are finite games and there are infinite games. And this is how you're going to change your perspective, right? A finite game is defined as known players, fixed rules, and an agreed upon objective. Baseball, for example. We know the rules, we all agree to the rules, and whoever has more runs at the end of nine innings is the winner, and the game is over. No one ever says, we can just play two more innings. I know we can come back. Doesn't work that way. The game is over.
Right? That's a finite game. Then you have an infinite game. Infinite games are defined as known and unknown players. The rules are changeable, and the objective is to keep the game in play, to perpetuate the game. When you pit a finite player versus a finite player, the system is stable. Baseball is stable, right. When you pit an infinite player versus an infinite player, the system is also stable. Like the cold war, for example.
Because there cannot be a winner and a loser. There are no winners and losers in an infinite game, right? It doesn't exist. And because there are no winners or losers, what ends up happening in the infinite contest is players drop out when they run out of the will or the resources to play, but there's no winners or losers. Problems arise when you pit a finite player versus an infinite player. Because when a finite player is playing to win and an infinite player is to playing to keep the game going, right? This is what happened to us in Vietnam. We were playing to win, and the Vietnamese were fighting for their lives. We were the ones who got stuck in Quagmire. This is the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
They were trying to beat the mujahideen, and the mujahideen would fight for as long as is necessary. Quagmire. Now, let's look at business. The game of business has pre existed or has existed long before. Every single company that exists on this planet today, and it will outlast every single company that exists on this planet today. There's no winning the game of business. And the reason is, is because we haven't agreed to the rules. I get such a kick out of this.
You realize how many companies actually don't know the game they're in, right? Listen to the language that the companies use. We're trying to beat our competition. We're trying to be number one. Did you know that we were ranked number one? Look at the listing. Based on what criteria? Revenues, profits, market share, square footage. Number of employees. Based on what time frame? A quarter? A year, five years, ten years, 20 years, 50 years, 100 years. I haven't agreed to those standards.
How can you declare yourself the winner? How can you declare yourself number one where no one else in the game has agreed to the rules? It's arbitrary. There is no winning because there's no end. In other words, companies are playing finite games. Listen to their language. They're trying to beat their competition. What does that even mean? It's the leaders and the companies that understand the game that they're in and organize their resources and their decision making around the infinite contest that outlast and frustrate their competition. All the companies that we refer to as the exceptions, Southwest Airlines, Apple computers, Harley Davidson, they're the exception. No, they're playing the infinite contest.
They frustrate their competition is what happens. That's what happens, because they're not playing to win. Jim Senegal, the founder of Costco, which is the only real company that gives Walmart a run for its money, he says public companies are looking to succeed for the quarter. He says, we're looking for the next 50 years. You can hear him. He's playing the infinite contest. I spoke at a leadership summit for Microsoft. I also spoke at a leadership summit for Apple.
Now, at the Microsoft summit, I would say 70% of the executives, and this was under the Steve Ballmer days, I would say about 70% of the executives spent about 70% of their presentations talking about how to beat Apple. At the Apple summit, 100% of the executives spent 100% of their presentations talking about how to help teachers teach and how to help students learn. One was obsessed with their competition, the other one was obsessed with where they're going. So at the end of my presentation at Microsoft, they gave me a gift. They gave me the new Zune, which was the competitor to the iPod touch when it was a thing. Right? And I have to tell you, this piece of technology was spectacular. It was beautiful. The user interface was incredible.
The design was amazing. It was intuitive. It was one of the most beautiful, elegant pieces of technology I'd ever seen. Right now, it didn't work with iTunes, which is an entirely different problem. I couldn't use it. But that's something else. I'm sitting in the back of a taxi with a senior Apple executive, sort of employee, number twelve kind of guy, and I decide to stir the pot. And I turn to him and I say, you know, I spoke at a Microsoft summit, and they gave me their new zune.
And I have to tell you, it is so much better than your iPod touch. And he turned to me and said, I have no doubt. Conversation over. Because the infinite place, the player isn't playing to be number one every day with every product. They're playing to outlast the competition. If I had said to Microsoft, oh, I've got the new iPod touch, it's so much better than your new Zune, they would have said, can we see it? What does it do? We have to see it. Because one is obsessed with their competition. The other is obsessed with why they do what they do.
The other is obsessed with where they're going. And the reason apple frustrates their competition is because secretly, they're not even competing against them. They're competing against themselves. And they understand that sometimes you're a little bit ahead, and sometimes you're a little bit behind, and sometimes your product is better and sometimes you're not. But if you wake up every single morning and compete against yourself, how do I make our products better than they were yesterday? How do I take care of our customers better than we did yesterday? How do we advance our cause more efficiently, more productively than we did yesterday? How do we find new solutions to advance our calling, our cause, our purpose, our belief, our why every single day. What you will find is, over time, you will probably be ahead more often. Those who play the infinite game understand it's not about the battle. It's about the war.
And they don't play to win every day. And they frustrate their competition until their competition drops out of the game. Every single bankruptcy, almost every merger and acquisition is basically a company saying, we no longer have the will or the resources to continue to play. And we have no choice to either drop out of the game or merge our resources with another player so that we can stay in the game. That's what that is. And if you think about the number of bankruptcies and mergers and acquisitions, it's kind of proof that most companies don't even know the game they're in. You want to be a great leader? Start with empathy. You want to be a great leader.
Change your perspective and play the game you're actually playing. Thank you very much.
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1️⃣ One Sentence Summary
Leaders must empathize, understand infinite games, and support employees.
🔑 Key Themes
Millennials' impatience due to instant gratification
Corporate focus on short-term shareholder value
Importance of empathy in leadership
Finite vs. infinite games in business
Impact of technology on mental health
Lack of leadership training and perspective
Creating supportive work environments through leadership
💬 Keywords
Millennials, entitlement, impatience, instant gratification, fulfillment
Corporate world, shareholder value, layoffs, fear, vulnerability
Empathy, understanding, trust, cooperation, natural best
Finite games, infinite games, competition, outlasting, frustration
Southwest Airlines, Apple, Harley Davidson, adaptation, bankruptcy
Parenting strategies, participation medals, genuine achievement, technology, dopamine
Stress coping mechanisms, addiction, human interaction, social media, cell phone use
Self-worth, relationships, mental health, depression, suicide, drug overdose
Leadership, demand, trust, cooperation, organizations, perspective
Training, responsibility, personal sacrifice, work environment, business world
📚 Timestamped overview
00:00 The speaker feels embarrassed about their career but sees an opportunity to promote trust and cooperation. They plan to share a new message.
05:43 Noah loves his job at the Four Seasons and Caesar's palace because of the support and attention from managers.
07:24 Empathy needed in workplace; focus on understanding, not just results.
10:18 Kids get unwarranted honors, face reality shock, lower self-esteem.
14:19 Young people lack coping skills, rely on social media for validation.
16:46 Many struggle with relationships, leading to mental health issues.
20:58 Corporate environment neglects human needs, harmful business theories.
22:57 Layoffs destroy trust and cooperation in business.
28:41 Infinite game: no winners/losers, players drop out, Vietnam/Soviet Union examples.
31:27 Microsoft executives focused on beating Apple, while Apple executives focused on education and innovation. Microsoft gave a Zune as a gift, which was praised for its technology.
33:29 Competing with oneself leads to continuous improvement and success in the long run.
📚 Timestamped overview
00:00 Demand for work, opportunity in trust, cooperation.
05:43 Noah loves his job at Four Seasons.
07:24 Lack of empathy in handling work performance
10:18 Entitled kids struggle with shattered self-esteem.
14:19 Youth rely on social media for validation.
16:46 Struggle in forming deep relationships leads to depression.
20:58 Corporate environments are bad for people.
22:57 Layoffs destroy trust and cooperation in business.
28:41 Competition without winners leads to endless conflict.
31:27 Executives at Microsoft focused on beating Apple.
33:29 Compete against yourself to achieve infinite success.
❇️ Key topics and bullets
The Millennial Generation
Portrayal as entitled and impatient
Impact of instant gratification culture
False application of instant gratification to life and career fulfillment
Corporate Environment
Focus on maximizing shareholder value
Frequent mass layoffs
Lack of trust and vulnerability
Need for empathy and understanding
Empathy
Considering others' circumstances and perspectives
Application in understanding millennials and their struggles
Finite and Infinite Games
Finite games (e.g., baseball)
Infinite games (seeking to perpetuate the game)
Business as an infinite game
Successful Companies Playing the Infinite Game
Southwest Airlines, Apple, and Harley Davidson
Focusing on outlasting and frustrating competition
Apple's approach of competing against themselves
Companies Failing to Adapt to the Infinite Game
Facing bankruptcy or mergers
Lack of understanding of the game they are playing
Impact of Parenting Strategies and Technology on Millennials
Participation medals and lack of genuine achievement
Role of technology, dopamine, and stress coping mechanisms
Addiction and impact on human interaction
Effects of Excessive Social Media and Cell Phone Use
Impact on self-worth, relationships, and mental health
Rise of depression, suicide, and drug overdose among millennials
Need for genuine human interaction for joy and fulfillment
Leadership
Demand for Simon Sinek's message on trust and cooperation
Importance of empathy and perspective in great leaders
Lack of training for leaders
Leadership as a learnable skill requiring personal sacrifice
Work Environment
Example of the Four Seasons and Caesar's Palace
How leadership creates the work environment
Lack of empathy in the business world
Importance of understanding and supporting employees, especially young millennials
How to Create Content Like This
Based on the key facts presented in Simon Sinek's talk, creators can replicate his success by focusing on the following aspects:
Address relevant and timely topics: Sinek discusses issues that resonate with many people, such as the struggles of the younger generation, the impact of technology on mental health, and the importance of empathy in leadership.
Provide unique insights and perspectives: Sinek offers a fresh take on these topics, challenging common assumptions and providing new ways of thinking about the issues.
Use relatable examples and analogies: Throughout the talk, Sinek uses relatable examples and analogies, such as the comparison between finite and infinite games, to help the audience understand complex concepts.
Be authentic and passionate: Sinek's passion for his message is evident in his delivery, which helps to engage and inspire the audience.
Offer practical advice and solutions: Sinek not only highlights the problems but also provides practical advice and solutions, such as the importance of empathy and understanding in leadership and the need for genuine human interaction.
Engage with the audience: Sinek's talk is structured in a way that engages the audience, using questions and personal anecdotes to create a connection with the listeners.
Promote the content effectively: The success of Sinek's talk can also be attributed to effective promotion and distribution, which helped it reach a wide audience and go viral.
By focusing on these key elements and creating content that is relevant, insightful, and engaging, creators can increase their chances of producing successful and impactful content.
Anatomy of Good Content
The content you provided is a summary of a video by Simon Sinek, a well-known author and speaker on leadership and organizational management. The structure of the content is well-organized, focusing on several key themes and ideas that Sinek discusses throughout the video.
What makes this content good:
Clear main points: The summary highlights the main points of Sinek's talk, such as the challenges faced by the younger generation, the importance of empathy in leadership, and the concept of finite and infinite games in business.
Logical flow: The content follows a logical progression, starting with the misperceptions about the younger generation, moving on to the corporate environment and the need for empathy, and then discussing the concept of finite and infinite games in business.
Relevant examples: The summary includes specific examples that Sinek uses to illustrate his points, such as the comparison between Southwest Airlines, Apple, and Harley Davidson, and their approach to the infinite game.
Actionable insights: The content provides actionable insights for leaders and organizations, emphasizing the importance of empathy, understanding, and focusing on the long-term success of the company rather than short-term gains.
Engaging delivery: Although the summary is in written form, it captures the engaging nature of Sinek's delivery, using simple language and relatable examples to convey complex ideas.
Addresses current issues: The content tackles current issues, such as the challenges faced by millennials, the impact of technology on mental health, and the need for genuine human interaction in the workplace.
Overall, the structure of the content is well-organized, easy to follow, and effectively conveys the main points of Simon Sinek's video. The use of examples, actionable insights, and engaging delivery makes the content informative and valuable for viewers interested in leadership and organizational management.
Anatomy of Good Content
The content in this video by Simon Sinek is well-structured and engaging, making it an effective presentation. Here are some key elements that contribute to its quality:
Clear main points: Sinek focuses on a few central themes, such as the impact of instant gratification on the younger generation, the importance of empathy in leadership, and the concept of finite and infinite games in business. This clarity helps the audience follow his message easily.
Examples and analogies: Throughout the video, Sinek uses relatable examples and analogies to illustrate his points, such as comparing baseball to finite games and using the Four Seasons and Caesar's Palace to demonstrate leadership's impact on work environments. These examples make his ideas more accessible and memorable.
Personal anecdotes: By sharing his own experiences and observations, Sinek adds a personal touch to his presentation, making it more engaging and authentic.
Cohesive narrative: The content flows logically from one point to another, building a cohesive narrative that ties together the various themes and examples. This structure helps the audience understand the connections between the different ideas presented.
Emotional appeal: Sinek's discussion of empathy, the struggles of millennials, and the importance of genuine human interaction resonates emotionally with the audience, making the content more impactful and memorable.
Thought-provoking insights: The video offers fresh perspectives on topics such as leadership, business strategy, and generational differences, encouraging the audience to think critically about these issues and their implications.
Engaging delivery: Simon Sinek's speaking style is engaging and dynamic, with an appropriate mix of passion, humor, and sincerity. This helps maintain the audience's attention throughout the video.
Overall, the combination of clear structure, relatable examples, personal anecdotes, emotional appeal, and thought-provoking insights makes this content effective and engaging for the audience.
How to Create Content Like This
Here are a few ways to replicate the success of Simon Sinek's viral video:
Focus on a universal pain point: Sinek addresses issues that impact people in both their personal and professional lives, such as the challenges faced by millennials and the lack of empathy in corporate culture. By tackling topics that resonate with a wide audience, you increase the chances of your content striking a chord and being shared.
Provide unique insights and perspectives: Rather than simply stating the problems, Sinek offers fresh perspectives on the root causes. For example, he attributes millennials' struggles to parenting strategies and technology rather than laziness. Bringing new insights to familiar issues helps your content stand out.
Use relatable examples and analogies: Sinek illustrates his points with examples like participation medals, cell phone addictions, and finite vs. infinite games. These concrete examples make complex ideas easier to grasp and remember. Incorporating relatable analogies can make your content more engaging and impactful.
Convey genuine empathy and emotion: Throughout the talk, Sinek demonstrates authentic concern for the struggles people face and passionately advocates for more empathetic leadership. Allowing your own emotions to come through helps form a deeper connection with the audience. People are more likely to share content that moves them.
How to Create Content Like This
Here are a few ways to replicate the success of Simon Sinek's viral recording on leadership and empathy:
Choose a universally relevant topic: Sinek's message about the struggles of millennials, the importance of empathy in leadership, and the concept of finite vs infinite games in business resonates with a wide audience. By addressing topics that are broadly applicable and thought-provoking, your content is more likely to strike a chord and get shared.
Use relatable examples and analogies: Throughout the recording, Sinek uses everyday examples like letting someone merge in traffic to illustrate empathy. He also draws parallels between business and sports to explain finite vs infinite games. Incorporating this type of relatable storytelling makes complex ideas easier to grasp and remember.
Cite research and share personal anecdotes: To support his points, Sinek references psychological studies on topics like dopamine and technology addiction. He balances this by vulnerably sharing his own experiences struggling to unplug from his phone. Combining credible third-party information with your own stories makes for a potent content mix.
Distill key takeaways into tweetable soundbites: Sinek's recording is filled with powerful one-liners like "Most leaders don't even know the game they're in." Packaging your insights into similarly quotable, shareable lines increases the chances of your content spreading on social media as people share the snippet that resonated most with them.
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