Simon Sinek - Collected Quotes

"For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs. It's not 'integrity'," it's 'always do the right thing'. It's not 'innovation', it's 'look at the problem from a different angle'. Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea - we have a clear idea of how to act in any situation." (Simon Sinek, "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action", 2009)

"Great companies don't hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. People are either motivated or they are not. Unless you give motivated people something to believe in, something bigger than their job to work toward, they will motivate themselves to find a new job and you'll be stuck with whoever's left." (Simon Sinek, "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action", 2009)

"There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it." (Simon Sinek, "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action", 2009)

"There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or influence. Those who lead inspire us." (Simon Sinek, "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action", 2009)

"When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY, trust emerges." (Simon Sinek, "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action", 2009) 

"And when a leader embraces their responsibility to care for people instead of caring for numbers, then people will follow, solve problems and see to it that that leader's vision comes to life the right way, a stable way and not the expedient way." (Simon Sinek, "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't", 2014)

"Truly human leadership protects an organization from the internal rivalries that can shatter a culture. When we have to protect ourselves from each other, the whole organization suffers. But when trust and cooperation thrive internally, we pull together and the organization grows stronger as a result." (Simon Sinek, "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't", 2014)