and the reason is simple is because this
notion of family in the notion of
belonging is very personal for me is as
much for you I get invited to speak to a
lot of remarkable and fascinating
audiences who are doing remarkable
things but they do what they do and I do
what I do and so it’s particularly
special for me to talk to an audience
where I’m one of you and you’re one of
me I feel at home here and I can’t tell
you how wonderful everybody has been as
I’ve been walking around so thank you
this one’s very special for me the
concept of entrepreneurship is also
interesting to me I think there’s a lot
of people who like to say I’m an
entrepreneur but most don’t really know
what it means an entrepreneur sees what
they want and they set out to get it an
entrepreneur sees the things that
prevent them from getting what they want
and that’s the difference that’s the
at the end of the day an entrepreneur is
a problem solver they are not turned off
by long lines they are not turned off by
things that will get in the way they are
not turned off by things that will make
things difficult they see what they want
and they find a way to get it they don’t
do it in a way that hurts anybody they
don’t do it in a way that denies anybody
else their desire to get what they want
they don’t judge others for doing it the
other way they might make them
uncomfortable but they don’t judge them
but they get what they want but first
they have to know what they want and the
question is what do you want you want to
build a business you need employees if
you have employees you have people gonna
help your business
think about it at the end of the day
you’re asking them to help build your
dream you’re asking them to come on
board and help you get what you want
even if they’re not employees they’re
just friends support is why should they
help you this is what it means to be a
leader so let’s define a leader what is
a leader a leader is just that it’s one
who leads but a leader to be a leader
must have followers you’re not a leader
unless there are those who volunteer to
follow you you cannot force someone to
follow you they have to choose to follow
you whether they’re customers or
employees friends investors supporters
they choose they volunteer to help you
get what you want why should they why
should they bother what leaders do is
they inspire people to be a part of what
they’re doing they inspire people to
follow in the direction that they are
going at the end of the day there are
only two ways to influence human
behavior you can either manipulate it or
you can inspire it those are your
options we all know how manipulation
works in a manipulation in business
right you drop your price low enough
people will do business with you this is
the concept behind a sale things a price
to move it works it’s manipulative
promotions two for one free toy inside
or if you’re in the b2b space we call it
Value Added same idea it’s a promotion
it’s giving stuff away for free to
reduce someone’s risk so they’ll choose
you over the competition we see
manipulation a lot in marketing fear
wonderful manipulator any parents in the
audience you know exactly what I’m
talking about
fear is a wonderful manipulator you can
get people to do all kinds of things
we’re often told you have to be
aspirational yes it’s good to be
positive but it’s still a manipulation I
like to joke that you can get people to
join the gym with an aspirational
message but to get them to go three days
a week that requires a little bit of
inspiration or what a lot of
organizations like to call innovation
it’s really novelty right because real
innovation changes the course of
industries of not society the fax
machine the microwave the lightbulb
iTunes that’s real innovation adding a
camera to your cell phone wonderful
feature not an innovation it is
stressful to be a consumer these days it
is stressful to try to decide what to
buy when you are bombarded day after day
with manipulation from all kinds of
organizations which TV should I buy
which cell phone company should I go
with with which IT solution should I get
from my office it’s called stress
stressful to be a seller as well however
in the face of bombardment of
manipulation of manipulation
manipulation in that that’s that’s the
market place how do you get your message
to stand out how do you get your message
heard why should anyone listen to you
this is the world we live in today it’s
called stress again I cannot dispute
that every one of those manipulations
work they do that’s why companies use
them the problem is none of them breed
loyalty there’s an alternative
it’s called inspiration and there are a
few leaders and a few organizations that
rely vastly more on inspiration the
manipulation I’ll talk about some of the
big ones we know who they are Apple
computers Southwest Airlines Harley
Davidson virgin every single one of
these organizations these leaders those
with the ability to inspire they have
the most loyal employees they have the
most loyal customers they can charge a
premium if they want to they’re more
profitable they’re more innovative my
definition and most importantly they can
sustain all these things for the long
term what I discovered is that
regardless of their size and regardless
of their industry every single one of
these organizations with the capacity to
inspire they all think act and
communicate the exact same way and it’s
the complete opposite to everyone else
all I did was write it down and it’s
probably the world’s simplest idea I
call it the Golden Circle imagine if you
will three concentric circles a
bull’s-eye in the middle is the word y
in the center ring is the word how and
the outside ring is the word what it’s
this little idea that distinguishes
those with the capacity to inspire
versus everyone else let me define the
terms really quickly starting from the
outside in every single organization on
the planet knows what they do these the
products you sell or the services you
offer some know how they do it whether
you call it your differentiating value
proposition or your USP or your
proprietary process it’s the things that
you think make you special or different
or better than your competition but very
very few people in very very few
organizations can clearly state why they
do what they do and by why I don’t mean
to make money that’s a result by why I
mean what’s your purpose what’s your
cause what’s your belief why does your
company exist why did you go out of bed
this morning and why should anyone care
as a result the way we think the way we
act the way we communicate is from the
outside and it’s obvious we go from the
clearest thing to the fuzziest thing we
tell people what we do we tell them how
we’re different or how we’re better and
we expect some sort of behavior a
purchase a vote support but not the
inspired leaders not the inspired
organizations regardless of their size
regardless of their industry every
single one of them thinks acts and
communicates from the inside out they
all start with why let me give you an
example I use Apple a lot because
they’re easy to understand and we all
get it if Apple were like everyone else
piece of marketing from them for example
would sound like this they would
a what they do we make great computers
how do they do it they’re beautifully
designed simple to use and user friendly
want to buy one that’s normal
yeah that’s how most organizations talk
to us here’s our new car it’s got tinted
windows get great gas mileage leather
seats choose us here’s our law firm our
lawyers went to all the best schools we
want to all of our cases choose us but
not the inspired leaders not Apple they
start with why here’s how they actually
communicate everything we do they say we
believe in challenging the status quo we
believe in thinking differently the way
we challenge the status quo is by making
our products beautifully designed simple
to use and user friendly we just happen
to make great computers wanna buy one
totally different totally different no
trickery no manipulations no celebrity
endorsements all I did was reverse the
order of the information what it starts
to show us is that it’s not what you do
that matters it’s why you do it people
don’t buy what you do they buy why you
do it and what you do simply serves as
the tangible proof of what you believe
this is the reason why every single
person in this room is perfectly
comfortable buying a computer from Apple
we’re perfectly comfortable with the
idea that Apple makes mp3 players and
phones and DVRs newsflash Apple is just
a company that’s all they are it’s a
corporate structure they have some good
products and some bad ones all of their
competitors have equal and open access
to the same resources the same agencies
the same consultants the same media the
same talent it is a zero-sum game every
single one of their competitors is
equally qualified to make every product
that Apple makes and yet how is it that
this one company has an unbalanced
amount of influence an unbalanced
ability to innovate an unbalanced amount
of profitability an unbalanced amount of
loyalty amongst their customers and in
their employees the difference is they
haven’t defined themselves by what they
do they’ve defined themselves by why
they do it and what they do simply
serves the tangible proof of what they
believe Dell is a good company that
makes good products and as every little
bit qualified to make every product that
Apple makes a few years ago they came
out with PDAs and mp3 players and nobody
bought one why would we buy an mp3
player from a computer company it
doesn’t make sense but we do it every
day
the difference is Dell has defined
themselves by what they do and Apple has
defined themselves by why they exist for
this little idea to work you have to
have three things one you have to know
why you do what you do if you don’t know
why you do what you do how will anyone
else – you have to have discipline of
how you have to hold yourself and your
people accountable to your values and
your guiding principles and thirdly you
have to have consistency of what
everything you say and everything you do
everything must prove what you believe
at the end of the day why is just a
belief that’s all it is house are the
actions we take to realize that belief
and what are the results of those
actions the things we say the things we
do our products and services and
marketing etc and if what you say and
what you do doesn’t show what you
believe that no one will know what you
believe this is the concept behind
authenticity I’m tired and bored of
people standing on stages telling us all
we have to be authentic how do you
implement authenticity if you would when
you go back to your office a little more
authenticity in everything you do
appreciate it thanks no clue what
authenticity means is that the things
you say and the things you do you
actually believe this is caveman stuff
the reason the human race is so
successful is not because we’re the
strongest it’s not even because were the
smartest it’s because we’re social
animals it’s because we have the ability
to form cultures and communities
what’s a culture what’s a community it’s
a group of people with a common set of
values and beliefs
what’s a company it’s a group of people
with a common set of values and beliefs
our need to be amongst people who
believe what I believe what we believe
is essential our survival depends on it
we cannot survive on arts by ourselves
out in the wilderness
it is our communities that protect us
and look after us and are the reason the
human race succeeds when you are
surrounded by people who believe what
you believe something remarkable happens
Trust emerges
make no mistake of it trust is a feeling
it is a human experience simply doing
everything you promised your going to do
does not mean people will trust you just
means you’re responsible we all have
friends were total screw-ups and yet we
still trust them
Trust is a feeling and it comes from
that common set of values and beliefs
and when you are surrounded by people
who trust you and you trust them you’re
more likely to take a risk you’re more
likely to explore you’re more likely to
innovate you’re more likely to leave the
cave to go hunting saber-toothed Tigers
with the confidence that those in your
community will look after your stuff and
protect your children while you’re gone
your survival depends on your ability to
form trust and Trust can only be formed
when you’re surrounded by people who
believe what you believe and you can
only be surrounded by people who believe
what you believe if you know why you do
what you do how many of you either love
your Macintosh computer or know somebody
who loves their Macintosh computer ok
good bunch of you you can always tell
people who love their Macs
because when you try and convince them
that they actually bought substandard
computers they start foaming at the
mouth rationally speaking apples are
substandard they are they’re at least
25% more expensive sometimes double the
price of their PC counterparts there’s
less software there’s fewer peripherals
and I know because I switched to a Mac
they are absolutely slower than PCs
substandard and yet people who buy them
don’t even compare to the competition
they don’t do market research and try
and figure out which is the best
computer they’ve decided they’re only
gonna get a Mac and they buy them over
and over and over again and there are
young kids living on cup of noodles
because they can’t afford anything more
and yet it’s totally ok to spend $2,000
on a laptop this doesn’t make sense
there’s something deeper there’s
something deeper happening here
Apple stands for something the people
who are drawn to Apple the people who
believe in the same things that Apple
believes do so not because the computers
rationally better it’s because it
becomes a symbol one of the things that
they do that reflects their own beliefs
every decision we make in our lives as
individuals or organizations is a piece
of communication it tells the outside
world something about who we are it’s
the way we get the word out there are
people who walk around with
harley-davidson logos on their bodies
it’s a corporate logo some of them don’t
even own the product but it’s no longer
a logo because Harley is so clear and
why they do what they do and what they
believe and they’re so disciplined and
how they do it and they’re so consistent
in what they do what ends up happening
is everything they say and everything
they do their products their logos
become symbols symbols of a set of
values and beliefs and the person who
puts that Harley logo there it’s nothing
to do with the motorcycle they’re
telling you something about who they are
this is the reason why people with Apple
laptops love opening their laptops on
airports they want everybody to see and
you’ll never see somebody with an Apple
laptop put a big tiger print sticker
over the top of their computer it’ll
never happen
take a PC we don’t care what computer
you’re using and you put stickers all
over it make it pretty never it’s a
piece of communication the clearer you
are about what you believe the more
disciplined you are about how you do
things and the more consistent you are
and what you do everything you say and
everything you do then becomes a symbol
for that set of values and beliefs it’s
biology it’s biology if you look at a
cross-section of the human brain looking
from the top down the human brain
evolved into three major areas that
corresponds with this little idea the
outside area the what level is our
newest brain our Homo Sapien brain
called our neocortex the neocortex is
responsible for all of our rational and
analytical thought and language the
middle two sections wine how make up our
limbic brains
our limbic brains are responsible for
all of our feelings like trust and
loyalty it’s also responsible for all
human behavior all decision-making and
it has no capacity for language in other
words you can’t ask your customers why
do you do business with us they can’t
tell you the part of the brain that
controls behavior does not control
language and so we rationalize price
service quality features right but if
you invest all your money and price
service quality features how come you
don’t win all the customers and how come
sometimes when you’re not the best price
service quality features you still have
loyal customers there’s something deeper
going on this is the reason when you ask
those people who love their max why do
you love your Mac they can’t tell you
what you see I’m the kind of person who
likes to challenge the status quo and so
it’s very important for me to surround
myself with the people and the products
and the brands that prove to the outside
world who I believe I am biologically
that’s what happened but it happened in
the part of the brain that controls
feelings but not language the part of
the brain that controls decision-making
and so they rationalize it’s the user
interface it’s the simplicity it’s the
design I’m a creative person whatever
that means it’s the same for us it’s the
same for us in other circumstances why
do you love your husband why do you love
your wife that’s a difficult question
that’s usually where most people start
right and then they start rationalizing
she’s fun she’s always been there for me
I can count on her it sounds like a
golden retriever and those aren’t
necessarily the conditions for marriage
my sister says of my brother-in-law I
love this it’s supposed to be a
compliment this isn’t my brother-in-law
I never imagined I’d marry a guy like
him what she’s saying is when I was
younger and I made a checklist of all
the things that I wanted my future
husband what what what he has none of
them but I love him
and I want to have children with him and
I want to spend the rest of my life with
him
it’s not rational we just think it’s
rational and again the part of the brain
that controls behavior and
decision-making and feelings doesn’t
control language this is where gut
decisions come from this is why we say I
don’t know just felt right
why do we use the verb to feel to
describe a decision it’s because the
part of the brain that controls feelings
controls decision-making that’s why
there is no part of your stomach that
controls decision-making and it didn’t
happen in your blood and it’s not in
your bones and you’re not following your
heart we ascribe it to all different
parts of the body because we can’t find
the words it just feels right and we all
know that those are higher quality
decisions anyway when all you can give
her the facts and figures as to why you
should or shouldn’t do in some do
something the highest level of
confidence you can give is I think this
is the right decision that would be
biologically accurate but we all know
they were cut there are decisions we
make in our lives that I know the facts
and figures say that we should do that
just doesn’t feel right though and you
ask the most successful entrepreneurs in
the world what’s your secret they all
say the same thing trusted my gut trust
my gut and when things didn’t go well I
knew I should have trusted my gut
problem is it’s not scalable not
scalable we all have the innate ability
to find people who believe what we
believe our survival depends on it we
are human animals we know how to do this
if I ask you to go out in the street and
find all the people who believe what you
believe you know exactly what to do
you’re going to go up to somebody and
you’re gonna strike up a conversation
maybe have good chemistry right maybe
you have to talk them a little longer
you’ll get a feeling for them and it’ll
either be right or wrong right it’s
called dating it’s called making friends
it’s called interviewing we know how to
do this we know how to do this it’s not
scalable but if I ask you to go out on
the street and find all the people
wearing red hats easy there’s one
there’s one there’s one there’s one
there’s one instantaneously you can find
the people who believe what you believe
because they’re putting out symbols of
their own beliefs you people who love
your Apple computers don’t lie to me I
know when you’re walking through the
airport you see some 16 year old sitting
on the floor you know on her Mac laptop
you walk past you go okay
[Applause]
it’s because when you see that symbol
that Apple that glowing Apple you’re
like how many of you are from the Las
Vegas area anybody a couple of you okay
are you friends with everybody from Las
Vegas why not but when you go to Texas
and somebody says I’m from Las Vegas
you’re like hey hey I’m from Las Vegas
and you’re best friends and when you’re
in France on your own vacation and you
happen to hear an American accent
and you go hey away from we’re from
Texas we’re from Las Vegas and you’re
best friends and the reason is is
because the most basic human desire on
the planet is to feel like we belong our
survival depends on it
and when we are in an environment where
we know we don’t belong we seek out
anyone who may have some of the same
values and beliefs that we have so we
can form trust we can rely on each other
watch each other’s backs simply because
we share the same values and beliefs and
as you get closer and closer and closer
you want to find those people who
believe what you believe
knowing what you believe means that you
can look for the symbols that Apple logo
says something that harley-davidson logo
says something and you’re either drawn
leadership is when you have the ability
to stand on a street corner and put on
your own red hat and simply stand there
and go I got a red hat I got a red hat I
got a red hat and all the other people
walking past even though they can’t see
their own red hats even though they
don’t know their why they’re eerily
drawn to you they’re really drawn to you
there’s an inextricable link between
leadership and communication those who
lead are the ones who can clearly
communicate what they believe and those
who can clearly communicate what they
believe are the ones
who lead and the reason is simple is
because when you talk about what you
believe and you put your beliefs and
your values and clear words or symbols
consistent enough authentic enough that
I know that everything you say and do
represents what you believe I will be
drawn to you for myself for my own
survival doing business with you working
for you being your friend says something
about Who I am the goal is not to do
business with everybody who needs what
you have the goal is to do business with
people who believe what you believe
people who believe what you believe will
work for you with blood and sweat and
tears people who don’t believe what you
believe work for your money the same is
true for customers those who believe
what you believe will go out of their
way to do business with you those who
don’t believe what you believe just
wanted cheaper there’s a huge difference
between repeat business and loyalty
repeat business means I’m willing to do
business with you over and over and over
again
loyalty means I’m willing to turn down a
better product at a better price maybe
even suffer inconvenience to continue to
do business with you the ones who you
just happen to meet some price standard
you happen to meet some of rational
objectives that they’re looking for
they’ll do business with you anyway if
you happen to meet them why would you
ever focus on trying to appease them
they come and go it’s the loyal ones the
people who believe what you believe the
ones who stick with you through thick
and thin because doing business with you
says more about them than it does about
you those are the ones that matter most
and the reason is simple it’s because of
something called the law of diffusion of
innovations the bell curve if you don’t
know the law of diffusion you definitely
know the terminology if you look at the
Bell when it says is the first
two-and-a-half percent of our population
are our innovators the next thirteen and
a half percent of our population are our
early adopters the next thirty four
percent are our early majority the next
thirty four percent are a late majority
and the last 16 percent at the end of
the bell are our laggards the only
reason the laggards by touch-tone phones
is because you can’t buy rotary phones
anymore
we all fit at various times for various
reasons across the scale what the law of
diffusion tells us is that early adopter
and innovator population the left side
of the bell right the early adopter an
innovator side of the population they’re
very comfortable trusting their guts
they’re very comfortable making
intuitive decisions and they’re willing
to pay premiums and suffer inconvenience
to be a part of something that reflects
their beliefs these the people that
bought that stood in line for six hours
to buy iPhones when they first came out
even though you could just walk into the
store the following week and just buy
one off the shelf these the people who
spent 40 or 50 thousand dollars on
flat-screen TVs when they first came out
even though the technology was
substandard and had nothing to do with
the technology and had to do with them
they wanted to be first people who
bought iPhone fours why couldn’t they
just keep their phone in their pocket
when the phone rings onto the phone when
I got one did you get one you didn’t get
one I got one they have to show you the
reason they have to show you is cuz
they’re telling you something about who
they are and other people who got one
first and they’re like oh you got one
too me to look isn’t it cool look you
both have one why’d you have to compare
it’s because that common set of values
and beliefs you found somebody like you
this is good this is good alright that’s
that early adopter and innovator
population they’re willing to pay a
premium or suffer inconvenience to be a
part of something that reflects their
beliefs now the rest of the world the
majority is absolutely more cynical and
more practical absolutely
they absolutely care more about things
like price and quality and service and
features absolutely the problem is
according to the law of diffusion you
cannot have mass market success or mass
market acceptance for an idea until
you’ve achieved 15 to 18 percent market
penetration that is the tipping point
and the reason is is because the early
majority that first 34 percent will not
try something until someone else has
tried it first this is the reason we
have to drop our price and offer
promotions and offer value added because
we have to reduce their risk to do
business with us the innovator in the
early adopters happily pay premiums and
suffering convenience do business with
you the goal is to get to that tipping
point it’s easy law of averages so you
says you can get 10% I promise you right
now you have 10% who are loyal how do we
describe them they just get it don’t
know what that means
get what what’s it oh you know that
those other guys that guy he doesn’t get
it that’s how we describe them it’s like
gut feelings get what how do you find
the people who get it before you do
business with them how do you identify
the it’s how do you find the people
wearing the red hats before you waste
all your time and energy you talk about
what you believe I’ll talk give you two
examples a famous failure and a famous
success first the famous failure TiVo if
you ask most companies why did your
product fail or why did your company
fail they usually give you some
combination of the same few reasons
right undercapitalized didn’t have
enough money that’s a big one
bad market conditions we had the wrong
people poorly executed that pretty much
explains every failure there is some
combination of those those factors which
means if you have all of those that
means you should be instantaneously six
successful right
okay so TiVo TiVo was introduced into
marketplace about nine or ten years ago
from the date was introduced to this
current day it is the single best
quality product on the market hands-down
undisputed its technology’s way beyond
any other DVR system the best execution
flawless venture capital up the wazoo
money no problem
brilliant engineers on board had good
people market conditions remarkable the
unaided awareness of TiVo’s through the
roof
we use TiVo as a verb I TiVo stuff on my
piece of junk cable DVR right and if you
want to throw in first mover’s advantage
throw that into because they had that as
well
TiVo is a commercial and financial
failure they’ve never made money and
when their stock went public it launched
about forty or fifty dollars very
quickly plummeted and except for a
couple of little blips has never traded
above ten dollars TiVo is a commercial
and financial failure and the reason is
because when they launched this
brilliant product they attempted to tell
the mass than what the majority what
their product does they said to the
majority we have a product that pauses
live TV skips commercials memorizes your
viewing habits and records on your
behalf without you even asking and the
cynical practical majority said I don’t
need it I don’t like it I don’t believe
you you’re scaring me so didn’t buy
wooden a few did few early adopters did
ten percent you know to this day they
love their TiVo’s but it wasn’t enough
to make the system tip you see now
imagine if TiVo had told that left side
that there’s early adopters and those
innovators that they had just talked
about why the product even exists
imagining a they have said if you’re the
kind of person who likes to have total
control over every aspect of your life
boy do we have a product for you it
pauses live TV it skips commercials it
memorizes your viewing habits and
records on your behalf without you even
asking in this instance what the product
does serves as the tangible proof of why
it exists it is not the reason you use
to convince people to do business with
you in the first place people don’t buy
what you do they buy why you do it and
what you do serves as the tangible proof
of what you believe your company is one
of the things that you’re doing in your
life that proves who you are the more
you talk about what you believe the more
you talk about what you actually believe
the more likely you are to attract
people who believe what you believe and
they will help you because they want to
because they trust you here’s another
example my favorite one in the summer of
1963 250,000 people showed up on the
mall in Washington to hear dr. King give
his famous I have a dream speech there
were no invitations sent out there’s no
website to check the date how do you do
that how many emails did you get just to
show up here today I got seven dr. King
was not the only man in America who knew
what had to change to bring about civil
rights in this country dr. King didn’t
have all great ideas some of his ideas
were bad he was not the only man who
suffered in a pre-civil Rights America
in fact he suffered a little less than
some because he was off at university
and he wasn’t the perfect man he had his
complexities but we just don’t talk
about those things
the difference is dr. King didn’t go
around telling people what we need to do
what we need to do what we need to do he
went around told people I believe I
believe I believe and people who believe
what he believed took his cause and they
made it their own
and they told people what they believed
and those people who believe what they
believe they took that same cause and
they made it their own and they told
people they believed and some built
structures to get the word out more
efficiently and lo and behold on the
right day on the right time a quarter of
a million people showed up to hear him
speak
how many of them showed up for him zero
they showed up for themselves it’s what
they believed about this country it’s
the country that they wanted to live in
it’s the country that they wanted to
raise their children and that inspired
them to get on a bus travel for eight
hours and stand in the Sun in the middle
of Washington simply to hear dr. King
speak simply coming to the rally was one
of the things they did in their lives to
prove what they believed by the way he
gave the I have a dream speech not the I
have a planned speech it’s not what you
do that matters it’s why you do it you
cannot change the world to build it
build a multi-million dollar a
multi-billion dollar business by
yourself unscalable remember you and
your gut you can do very well not
scalable the only way to really grow is
to find those who believe what you
believe in are willing to work with you
with blood and sweat and tears to help
you get there do you know the story of
the two Stone layers though these two
stone layers right you go to the first
one and say how do you like your job
this is I mean I like my job I’ve been
working on this wall for as long as I
can remember the stones are heavy the
work is back-breaking it’s monotonous I
stand in the scorching hot Sun all day
and I don’t even know if I’m gonna
finish this wall in my lifetime it’s a
job that pays the bills you go up to
second guy and say how do you like your
job he says I love my job I’m building a
cathedral sure I’ve been building this
wall for as long as I can remember sure
the stones are heavy and the work is
back-breaking and I stand on a scorching
hot Sun all day nuts monotonous and I
don’t even know if I’m gonna finish this
wall in my lifetime but I’m building a
cathedral what they do is exactly the
same this guy might even be a champion
stone layer the only difference is that
only one of them knows why he shows up
to work every day and the guy who knows
why does not see himself as any more or
less important than the architect or the
guy doing the stained-glass windows a
landscaper they are all contributing to
building something that they believe in
that’s bigger than themselves a leader
is somebody who can put into words that
which does not exist yet
the leader is the one who stands there
and says in beautiful crystal-clear
words and he describes that cathedral
that hasn’t been built in words so clear
that others can take that image and they
can pass it on to others why are you
working so hard because I believe in it
we’re building a cathedral what
Cathedral let me tell you are you
describing your Cathedral you’re just
telling people the wall at your building
the reason everybody showed up here is
because together we’re gonna build a
cathedral we are all contributing to a
world that we would rather live in it’s
the leaders of this organization that
are describing that world a world in
which we are in control of our own lives
a world in which we live the life that
we believe we deserve
shouldn’t we all get that it’s the
reason I showed up here here’s a
statistic for you over 90 percent of
people go home feeling unfulfilled by
their work that’s a real statistic
ninety percent don’t feel fulfilled when
they go home at the end of the day I
want to live in a world in which the
vast majority of people love what they
do
I want to live in a world in which the
vast majority of people do business with
companies that they trust and love they
work with people that they trust and
love and they go home happier because of
it people who go to work and love what
they do come home happier people and
happier people treat their spouses
better and they treat their kids better
and they go back to work happy the next
day and they treat their colleagues
better and they treat their customers
better and those people go home happier
and they treat their kids better and
their spouses better it’s called world
peace and it happens because of the
likes of all of us this is called scale
this is called scale there are leaders
and there are those who lead leaders
hold a position of power or influence
but those who lead inspire us and
whether
they’re individuals or organizations we
follow those who lead not because we
have to but because we want to we follow
those who lead not for them but for
ourselves this is for people who want to
inspire those around them or who want to
find somebody to inspire them I can say
without a doubt you inspire me thank you
very much
[Applause] [Music]
notion of family in the notion of
belonging is very personal for me is as
much for you I get invited to speak to a
lot of remarkable and fascinating
audiences who are doing remarkable
things but they do what they do and I do
what I do and so it’s particularly
special for me to talk to an audience
where I’m one of you and you’re one of
me I feel at home here and I can’t tell
you how wonderful everybody has been as
I’ve been walking around so thank you
this one’s very special for me the
concept of entrepreneurship is also
interesting to me I think there’s a lot
of people who like to say I’m an
entrepreneur but most don’t really know
what it means an entrepreneur sees what
they want and they set out to get it an
entrepreneur sees the things that
prevent them from getting what they want
and that’s the difference that’s the
at the end of the day an entrepreneur is
a problem solver they are not turned off
by long lines they are not turned off by
things that will get in the way they are
not turned off by things that will make
things difficult they see what they want
and they find a way to get it they don’t
do it in a way that hurts anybody they
don’t do it in a way that denies anybody
else their desire to get what they want
they don’t judge others for doing it the
other way they might make them
uncomfortable but they don’t judge them
but they get what they want but first
they have to know what they want and the
question is what do you want you want to
build a business you need employees if
you have employees you have people gonna
help your business
think about it at the end of the day
you’re asking them to help build your
dream you’re asking them to come on
board and help you get what you want
even if they’re not employees they’re
just friends support is why should they
help you this is what it means to be a
leader so let’s define a leader what is
a leader a leader is just that it’s one
who leads but a leader to be a leader
must have followers you’re not a leader
unless there are those who volunteer to
follow you you cannot force someone to
follow you they have to choose to follow
you whether they’re customers or
employees friends investors supporters
they choose they volunteer to help you
get what you want why should they why
should they bother what leaders do is
they inspire people to be a part of what
they’re doing they inspire people to
follow in the direction that they are
going at the end of the day there are
only two ways to influence human
behavior you can either manipulate it or
you can inspire it those are your
options we all know how manipulation
works in a manipulation in business
right you drop your price low enough
people will do business with you this is
the concept behind a sale things a price
to move it works it’s manipulative
promotions two for one free toy inside
or if you’re in the b2b space we call it
Value Added same idea it’s a promotion
it’s giving stuff away for free to
reduce someone’s risk so they’ll choose
you over the competition we see
manipulation a lot in marketing fear
wonderful manipulator any parents in the
audience you know exactly what I’m
talking about
fear is a wonderful manipulator you can
get people to do all kinds of things
we’re often told you have to be
aspirational yes it’s good to be
positive but it’s still a manipulation I
like to joke that you can get people to
join the gym with an aspirational
message but to get them to go three days
a week that requires a little bit of
inspiration or what a lot of
organizations like to call innovation
it’s really novelty right because real
innovation changes the course of
industries of not society the fax
machine the microwave the lightbulb
iTunes that’s real innovation adding a
camera to your cell phone wonderful
feature not an innovation it is
stressful to be a consumer these days it
is stressful to try to decide what to
buy when you are bombarded day after day
with manipulation from all kinds of
organizations which TV should I buy
which cell phone company should I go
with with which IT solution should I get
from my office it’s called stress
stressful to be a seller as well however
in the face of bombardment of
manipulation of manipulation
manipulation in that that’s that’s the
market place how do you get your message
to stand out how do you get your message
heard why should anyone listen to you
this is the world we live in today it’s
called stress again I cannot dispute
that every one of those manipulations
work they do that’s why companies use
them the problem is none of them breed
loyalty there’s an alternative
it’s called inspiration and there are a
few leaders and a few organizations that
rely vastly more on inspiration the
manipulation I’ll talk about some of the
big ones we know who they are Apple
computers Southwest Airlines Harley
Davidson virgin every single one of
these organizations these leaders those
with the ability to inspire they have
the most loyal employees they have the
most loyal customers they can charge a
premium if they want to they’re more
profitable they’re more innovative my
definition and most importantly they can
sustain all these things for the long
term what I discovered is that
regardless of their size and regardless
of their industry every single one of
these organizations with the capacity to
inspire they all think act and
communicate the exact same way and it’s
the complete opposite to everyone else
all I did was write it down and it’s
probably the world’s simplest idea I
call it the Golden Circle imagine if you
will three concentric circles a
bull’s-eye in the middle is the word y
in the center ring is the word how and
the outside ring is the word what it’s
this little idea that distinguishes
those with the capacity to inspire
versus everyone else let me define the
terms really quickly starting from the
outside in every single organization on
the planet knows what they do these the
products you sell or the services you
offer some know how they do it whether
you call it your differentiating value
proposition or your USP or your
proprietary process it’s the things that
you think make you special or different
or better than your competition but very
very few people in very very few
organizations can clearly state why they
do what they do and by why I don’t mean
to make money that’s a result by why I
mean what’s your purpose what’s your
cause what’s your belief why does your
company exist why did you go out of bed
this morning and why should anyone care
as a result the way we think the way we
act the way we communicate is from the
outside and it’s obvious we go from the
clearest thing to the fuzziest thing we
tell people what we do we tell them how
we’re different or how we’re better and
we expect some sort of behavior a
purchase a vote support but not the
inspired leaders not the inspired
organizations regardless of their size
regardless of their industry every
single one of them thinks acts and
communicates from the inside out they
all start with why let me give you an
example I use Apple a lot because
they’re easy to understand and we all
get it if Apple were like everyone else
piece of marketing from them for example
would sound like this they would
a what they do we make great computers
how do they do it they’re beautifully
designed simple to use and user friendly
want to buy one that’s normal
yeah that’s how most organizations talk
to us here’s our new car it’s got tinted
windows get great gas mileage leather
seats choose us here’s our law firm our
lawyers went to all the best schools we
want to all of our cases choose us but
not the inspired leaders not Apple they
start with why here’s how they actually
communicate everything we do they say we
believe in challenging the status quo we
believe in thinking differently the way
we challenge the status quo is by making
our products beautifully designed simple
to use and user friendly we just happen
to make great computers wanna buy one
totally different totally different no
trickery no manipulations no celebrity
endorsements all I did was reverse the
order of the information what it starts
to show us is that it’s not what you do
that matters it’s why you do it people
don’t buy what you do they buy why you
do it and what you do simply serves as
the tangible proof of what you believe
this is the reason why every single
person in this room is perfectly
comfortable buying a computer from Apple
we’re perfectly comfortable with the
idea that Apple makes mp3 players and
phones and DVRs newsflash Apple is just
a company that’s all they are it’s a
corporate structure they have some good
products and some bad ones all of their
competitors have equal and open access
to the same resources the same agencies
the same consultants the same media the
same talent it is a zero-sum game every
single one of their competitors is
equally qualified to make every product
that Apple makes and yet how is it that
this one company has an unbalanced
amount of influence an unbalanced
ability to innovate an unbalanced amount
of profitability an unbalanced amount of
loyalty amongst their customers and in
their employees the difference is they
haven’t defined themselves by what they
do they’ve defined themselves by why
they do it and what they do simply
serves the tangible proof of what they
believe Dell is a good company that
makes good products and as every little
bit qualified to make every product that
Apple makes a few years ago they came
out with PDAs and mp3 players and nobody
bought one why would we buy an mp3
player from a computer company it
doesn’t make sense but we do it every
day
the difference is Dell has defined
themselves by what they do and Apple has
defined themselves by why they exist for
this little idea to work you have to
have three things one you have to know
why you do what you do if you don’t know
why you do what you do how will anyone
else – you have to have discipline of
how you have to hold yourself and your
people accountable to your values and
your guiding principles and thirdly you
have to have consistency of what
everything you say and everything you do
everything must prove what you believe
at the end of the day why is just a
belief that’s all it is house are the
actions we take to realize that belief
and what are the results of those
actions the things we say the things we
do our products and services and
marketing etc and if what you say and
what you do doesn’t show what you
believe that no one will know what you
believe this is the concept behind
authenticity I’m tired and bored of
people standing on stages telling us all
we have to be authentic how do you
implement authenticity if you would when
you go back to your office a little more
authenticity in everything you do
appreciate it thanks no clue what
authenticity means is that the things
you say and the things you do you
actually believe this is caveman stuff
the reason the human race is so
successful is not because we’re the
strongest it’s not even because were the
smartest it’s because we’re social
animals it’s because we have the ability
to form cultures and communities
what’s a culture what’s a community it’s
a group of people with a common set of
values and beliefs
what’s a company it’s a group of people
with a common set of values and beliefs
our need to be amongst people who
believe what I believe what we believe
is essential our survival depends on it
we cannot survive on arts by ourselves
out in the wilderness
it is our communities that protect us
and look after us and are the reason the
human race succeeds when you are
surrounded by people who believe what
you believe something remarkable happens
Trust emerges
make no mistake of it trust is a feeling
it is a human experience simply doing
everything you promised your going to do
does not mean people will trust you just
means you’re responsible we all have
friends were total screw-ups and yet we
still trust them
Trust is a feeling and it comes from
that common set of values and beliefs
and when you are surrounded by people
who trust you and you trust them you’re
more likely to take a risk you’re more
likely to explore you’re more likely to
innovate you’re more likely to leave the
cave to go hunting saber-toothed Tigers
with the confidence that those in your
community will look after your stuff and
protect your children while you’re gone
your survival depends on your ability to
form trust and Trust can only be formed
when you’re surrounded by people who
believe what you believe and you can
only be surrounded by people who believe
what you believe if you know why you do
what you do how many of you either love
your Macintosh computer or know somebody
who loves their Macintosh computer ok
good bunch of you you can always tell
people who love their Macs
because when you try and convince them
that they actually bought substandard
computers they start foaming at the
mouth rationally speaking apples are
substandard they are they’re at least
25% more expensive sometimes double the
price of their PC counterparts there’s
less software there’s fewer peripherals
and I know because I switched to a Mac
they are absolutely slower than PCs
substandard and yet people who buy them
don’t even compare to the competition
they don’t do market research and try
and figure out which is the best
computer they’ve decided they’re only
gonna get a Mac and they buy them over
and over and over again and there are
young kids living on cup of noodles
because they can’t afford anything more
and yet it’s totally ok to spend $2,000
on a laptop this doesn’t make sense
there’s something deeper there’s
something deeper happening here
Apple stands for something the people
who are drawn to Apple the people who
believe in the same things that Apple
believes do so not because the computers
rationally better it’s because it
becomes a symbol one of the things that
they do that reflects their own beliefs
every decision we make in our lives as
individuals or organizations is a piece
of communication it tells the outside
world something about who we are it’s
the way we get the word out there are
people who walk around with
harley-davidson logos on their bodies
it’s a corporate logo some of them don’t
even own the product but it’s no longer
a logo because Harley is so clear and
why they do what they do and what they
believe and they’re so disciplined and
how they do it and they’re so consistent
in what they do what ends up happening
is everything they say and everything
they do their products their logos
become symbols symbols of a set of
values and beliefs and the person who
puts that Harley logo there it’s nothing
to do with the motorcycle they’re
telling you something about who they are
this is the reason why people with Apple
laptops love opening their laptops on
airports they want everybody to see and
you’ll never see somebody with an Apple
laptop put a big tiger print sticker
over the top of their computer it’ll
never happen
take a PC we don’t care what computer
you’re using and you put stickers all
over it make it pretty never it’s a
piece of communication the clearer you
are about what you believe the more
disciplined you are about how you do
things and the more consistent you are
and what you do everything you say and
everything you do then becomes a symbol
for that set of values and beliefs it’s
biology it’s biology if you look at a
cross-section of the human brain looking
from the top down the human brain
evolved into three major areas that
corresponds with this little idea the
outside area the what level is our
newest brain our Homo Sapien brain
called our neocortex the neocortex is
responsible for all of our rational and
analytical thought and language the
middle two sections wine how make up our
limbic brains
our limbic brains are responsible for
all of our feelings like trust and
loyalty it’s also responsible for all
human behavior all decision-making and
it has no capacity for language in other
words you can’t ask your customers why
do you do business with us they can’t
tell you the part of the brain that
controls behavior does not control
language and so we rationalize price
service quality features right but if
you invest all your money and price
service quality features how come you
don’t win all the customers and how come
sometimes when you’re not the best price
service quality features you still have
loyal customers there’s something deeper
going on this is the reason when you ask
those people who love their max why do
you love your Mac they can’t tell you
what you see I’m the kind of person who
likes to challenge the status quo and so
it’s very important for me to surround
myself with the people and the products
and the brands that prove to the outside
world who I believe I am biologically
that’s what happened but it happened in
the part of the brain that controls
feelings but not language the part of
the brain that controls decision-making
and so they rationalize it’s the user
interface it’s the simplicity it’s the
design I’m a creative person whatever
that means it’s the same for us it’s the
same for us in other circumstances why
do you love your husband why do you love
your wife that’s a difficult question
that’s usually where most people start
right and then they start rationalizing
she’s fun she’s always been there for me
I can count on her it sounds like a
golden retriever and those aren’t
necessarily the conditions for marriage
my sister says of my brother-in-law I
love this it’s supposed to be a
compliment this isn’t my brother-in-law
I never imagined I’d marry a guy like
him what she’s saying is when I was
younger and I made a checklist of all
the things that I wanted my future
husband what what what he has none of
them but I love him
and I want to have children with him and
I want to spend the rest of my life with
him
it’s not rational we just think it’s
rational and again the part of the brain
that controls behavior and
decision-making and feelings doesn’t
control language this is where gut
decisions come from this is why we say I
don’t know just felt right
why do we use the verb to feel to
describe a decision it’s because the
part of the brain that controls feelings
controls decision-making that’s why
there is no part of your stomach that
controls decision-making and it didn’t
happen in your blood and it’s not in
your bones and you’re not following your
heart we ascribe it to all different
parts of the body because we can’t find
the words it just feels right and we all
know that those are higher quality
decisions anyway when all you can give
her the facts and figures as to why you
should or shouldn’t do in some do
something the highest level of
confidence you can give is I think this
is the right decision that would be
biologically accurate but we all know
they were cut there are decisions we
make in our lives that I know the facts
and figures say that we should do that
just doesn’t feel right though and you
ask the most successful entrepreneurs in
the world what’s your secret they all
say the same thing trusted my gut trust
my gut and when things didn’t go well I
knew I should have trusted my gut
problem is it’s not scalable not
scalable we all have the innate ability
to find people who believe what we
believe our survival depends on it we
are human animals we know how to do this
if I ask you to go out in the street and
find all the people who believe what you
believe you know exactly what to do
you’re going to go up to somebody and
you’re gonna strike up a conversation
maybe have good chemistry right maybe
you have to talk them a little longer
you’ll get a feeling for them and it’ll
either be right or wrong right it’s
called dating it’s called making friends
it’s called interviewing we know how to
do this we know how to do this it’s not
scalable but if I ask you to go out on
the street and find all the people
wearing red hats easy there’s one
there’s one there’s one there’s one
there’s one instantaneously you can find
the people who believe what you believe
because they’re putting out symbols of
their own beliefs you people who love
your Apple computers don’t lie to me I
know when you’re walking through the
airport you see some 16 year old sitting
on the floor you know on her Mac laptop
you walk past you go okay
[Applause]
it’s because when you see that symbol
that Apple that glowing Apple you’re
like how many of you are from the Las
Vegas area anybody a couple of you okay
are you friends with everybody from Las
Vegas why not but when you go to Texas
and somebody says I’m from Las Vegas
you’re like hey hey I’m from Las Vegas
and you’re best friends and when you’re
in France on your own vacation and you
happen to hear an American accent
and you go hey away from we’re from
Texas we’re from Las Vegas and you’re
best friends and the reason is is
because the most basic human desire on
the planet is to feel like we belong our
survival depends on it
and when we are in an environment where
we know we don’t belong we seek out
anyone who may have some of the same
values and beliefs that we have so we
can form trust we can rely on each other
watch each other’s backs simply because
we share the same values and beliefs and
as you get closer and closer and closer
you want to find those people who
believe what you believe
knowing what you believe means that you
can look for the symbols that Apple logo
says something that harley-davidson logo
says something and you’re either drawn
leadership is when you have the ability
to stand on a street corner and put on
your own red hat and simply stand there
and go I got a red hat I got a red hat I
got a red hat and all the other people
walking past even though they can’t see
their own red hats even though they
don’t know their why they’re eerily
drawn to you they’re really drawn to you
there’s an inextricable link between
leadership and communication those who
lead are the ones who can clearly
communicate what they believe and those
who can clearly communicate what they
believe are the ones
who lead and the reason is simple is
because when you talk about what you
believe and you put your beliefs and
your values and clear words or symbols
consistent enough authentic enough that
I know that everything you say and do
represents what you believe I will be
drawn to you for myself for my own
survival doing business with you working
for you being your friend says something
about Who I am the goal is not to do
business with everybody who needs what
you have the goal is to do business with
people who believe what you believe
people who believe what you believe will
work for you with blood and sweat and
tears people who don’t believe what you
believe work for your money the same is
true for customers those who believe
what you believe will go out of their
way to do business with you those who
don’t believe what you believe just
wanted cheaper there’s a huge difference
between repeat business and loyalty
repeat business means I’m willing to do
business with you over and over and over
again
loyalty means I’m willing to turn down a
better product at a better price maybe
even suffer inconvenience to continue to
do business with you the ones who you
just happen to meet some price standard
you happen to meet some of rational
objectives that they’re looking for
they’ll do business with you anyway if
you happen to meet them why would you
ever focus on trying to appease them
they come and go it’s the loyal ones the
people who believe what you believe the
ones who stick with you through thick
and thin because doing business with you
says more about them than it does about
you those are the ones that matter most
and the reason is simple it’s because of
something called the law of diffusion of
innovations the bell curve if you don’t
know the law of diffusion you definitely
know the terminology if you look at the
Bell when it says is the first
two-and-a-half percent of our population
are our innovators the next thirteen and
a half percent of our population are our
early adopters the next thirty four
percent are our early majority the next
thirty four percent are a late majority
and the last 16 percent at the end of
the bell are our laggards the only
reason the laggards by touch-tone phones
is because you can’t buy rotary phones
anymore
we all fit at various times for various
reasons across the scale what the law of
diffusion tells us is that early adopter
and innovator population the left side
of the bell right the early adopter an
innovator side of the population they’re
very comfortable trusting their guts
they’re very comfortable making
intuitive decisions and they’re willing
to pay premiums and suffer inconvenience
to be a part of something that reflects
their beliefs these the people that
bought that stood in line for six hours
to buy iPhones when they first came out
even though you could just walk into the
store the following week and just buy
one off the shelf these the people who
spent 40 or 50 thousand dollars on
flat-screen TVs when they first came out
even though the technology was
substandard and had nothing to do with
the technology and had to do with them
they wanted to be first people who
bought iPhone fours why couldn’t they
just keep their phone in their pocket
when the phone rings onto the phone when
I got one did you get one you didn’t get
one I got one they have to show you the
reason they have to show you is cuz
they’re telling you something about who
they are and other people who got one
first and they’re like oh you got one
too me to look isn’t it cool look you
both have one why’d you have to compare
it’s because that common set of values
and beliefs you found somebody like you
this is good this is good alright that’s
that early adopter and innovator
population they’re willing to pay a
premium or suffer inconvenience to be a
part of something that reflects their
beliefs now the rest of the world the
majority is absolutely more cynical and
more practical absolutely
they absolutely care more about things
like price and quality and service and
features absolutely the problem is
according to the law of diffusion you
cannot have mass market success or mass
market acceptance for an idea until
you’ve achieved 15 to 18 percent market
penetration that is the tipping point
and the reason is is because the early
majority that first 34 percent will not
try something until someone else has
tried it first this is the reason we
have to drop our price and offer
promotions and offer value added because
we have to reduce their risk to do
business with us the innovator in the
early adopters happily pay premiums and
suffering convenience do business with
you the goal is to get to that tipping
point it’s easy law of averages so you
says you can get 10% I promise you right
now you have 10% who are loyal how do we
describe them they just get it don’t
know what that means
get what what’s it oh you know that
those other guys that guy he doesn’t get
it that’s how we describe them it’s like
gut feelings get what how do you find
the people who get it before you do
business with them how do you identify
the it’s how do you find the people
wearing the red hats before you waste
all your time and energy you talk about
what you believe I’ll talk give you two
examples a famous failure and a famous
success first the famous failure TiVo if
you ask most companies why did your
product fail or why did your company
fail they usually give you some
combination of the same few reasons
right undercapitalized didn’t have
enough money that’s a big one
bad market conditions we had the wrong
people poorly executed that pretty much
explains every failure there is some
combination of those those factors which
means if you have all of those that
means you should be instantaneously six
successful right
okay so TiVo TiVo was introduced into
marketplace about nine or ten years ago
from the date was introduced to this
current day it is the single best
quality product on the market hands-down
undisputed its technology’s way beyond
any other DVR system the best execution
flawless venture capital up the wazoo
money no problem
brilliant engineers on board had good
people market conditions remarkable the
unaided awareness of TiVo’s through the
roof
we use TiVo as a verb I TiVo stuff on my
piece of junk cable DVR right and if you
want to throw in first mover’s advantage
throw that into because they had that as
well
TiVo is a commercial and financial
failure they’ve never made money and
when their stock went public it launched
about forty or fifty dollars very
quickly plummeted and except for a
couple of little blips has never traded
above ten dollars TiVo is a commercial
and financial failure and the reason is
because when they launched this
brilliant product they attempted to tell
the mass than what the majority what
their product does they said to the
majority we have a product that pauses
live TV skips commercials memorizes your
viewing habits and records on your
behalf without you even asking and the
cynical practical majority said I don’t
need it I don’t like it I don’t believe
you you’re scaring me so didn’t buy
wooden a few did few early adopters did
ten percent you know to this day they
love their TiVo’s but it wasn’t enough
to make the system tip you see now
imagine if TiVo had told that left side
that there’s early adopters and those
innovators that they had just talked
about why the product even exists
imagining a they have said if you’re the
kind of person who likes to have total
control over every aspect of your life
boy do we have a product for you it
pauses live TV it skips commercials it
memorizes your viewing habits and
records on your behalf without you even
asking in this instance what the product
does serves as the tangible proof of why
it exists it is not the reason you use
to convince people to do business with
you in the first place people don’t buy
what you do they buy why you do it and
what you do serves as the tangible proof
of what you believe your company is one
of the things that you’re doing in your
life that proves who you are the more
you talk about what you believe the more
you talk about what you actually believe
the more likely you are to attract
people who believe what you believe and
they will help you because they want to
because they trust you here’s another
example my favorite one in the summer of
1963 250,000 people showed up on the
mall in Washington to hear dr. King give
his famous I have a dream speech there
were no invitations sent out there’s no
website to check the date how do you do
that how many emails did you get just to
show up here today I got seven dr. King
was not the only man in America who knew
what had to change to bring about civil
rights in this country dr. King didn’t
have all great ideas some of his ideas
were bad he was not the only man who
suffered in a pre-civil Rights America
in fact he suffered a little less than
some because he was off at university
and he wasn’t the perfect man he had his
complexities but we just don’t talk
about those things
the difference is dr. King didn’t go
around telling people what we need to do
what we need to do what we need to do he
went around told people I believe I
believe I believe and people who believe
what he believed took his cause and they
made it their own
and they told people what they believed
and those people who believe what they
believe they took that same cause and
they made it their own and they told
people they believed and some built
structures to get the word out more
efficiently and lo and behold on the
right day on the right time a quarter of
a million people showed up to hear him
speak
how many of them showed up for him zero
they showed up for themselves it’s what
they believed about this country it’s
the country that they wanted to live in
it’s the country that they wanted to
raise their children and that inspired
them to get on a bus travel for eight
hours and stand in the Sun in the middle
of Washington simply to hear dr. King
speak simply coming to the rally was one
of the things they did in their lives to
prove what they believed by the way he
gave the I have a dream speech not the I
have a planned speech it’s not what you
do that matters it’s why you do it you
cannot change the world to build it
build a multi-million dollar a
multi-billion dollar business by
yourself unscalable remember you and
your gut you can do very well not
scalable the only way to really grow is
to find those who believe what you
believe in are willing to work with you
with blood and sweat and tears to help
you get there do you know the story of
the two Stone layers though these two
stone layers right you go to the first
one and say how do you like your job
this is I mean I like my job I’ve been
working on this wall for as long as I
can remember the stones are heavy the
work is back-breaking it’s monotonous I
stand in the scorching hot Sun all day
and I don’t even know if I’m gonna
finish this wall in my lifetime it’s a
job that pays the bills you go up to
second guy and say how do you like your
job he says I love my job I’m building a
cathedral sure I’ve been building this
wall for as long as I can remember sure
the stones are heavy and the work is
back-breaking and I stand on a scorching
hot Sun all day nuts monotonous and I
don’t even know if I’m gonna finish this
wall in my lifetime but I’m building a
cathedral what they do is exactly the
same this guy might even be a champion
stone layer the only difference is that
only one of them knows why he shows up
to work every day and the guy who knows
why does not see himself as any more or
less important than the architect or the
guy doing the stained-glass windows a
landscaper they are all contributing to
building something that they believe in
that’s bigger than themselves a leader
is somebody who can put into words that
which does not exist yet
the leader is the one who stands there
and says in beautiful crystal-clear
words and he describes that cathedral
that hasn’t been built in words so clear
that others can take that image and they
can pass it on to others why are you
working so hard because I believe in it
we’re building a cathedral what
Cathedral let me tell you are you
describing your Cathedral you’re just
telling people the wall at your building
the reason everybody showed up here is
because together we’re gonna build a
cathedral we are all contributing to a
world that we would rather live in it’s
the leaders of this organization that
are describing that world a world in
which we are in control of our own lives
a world in which we live the life that
we believe we deserve
shouldn’t we all get that it’s the
reason I showed up here here’s a
statistic for you over 90 percent of
people go home feeling unfulfilled by
their work that’s a real statistic
ninety percent don’t feel fulfilled when
they go home at the end of the day I
want to live in a world in which the
vast majority of people love what they
do
I want to live in a world in which the
vast majority of people do business with
companies that they trust and love they
work with people that they trust and
love and they go home happier because of
it people who go to work and love what
they do come home happier people and
happier people treat their spouses
better and they treat their kids better
and they go back to work happy the next
day and they treat their colleagues
better and they treat their customers
better and those people go home happier
and they treat their kids better and
their spouses better it’s called world
peace and it happens because of the
likes of all of us this is called scale
this is called scale there are leaders
and there are those who lead leaders
hold a position of power or influence
but those who lead inspire us and
whether
they’re individuals or organizations we
follow those who lead not because we
have to but because we want to we follow
those who lead not for them but for
ourselves this is for people who want to
inspire those around them or who want to
find somebody to inspire them I can say
without a doubt you inspire me thank you
very much
[Applause] [Music]
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