I talked to so many smart fantastic
ambitious idealistic hard-working kids
and there right out of college there in
their entry-level jobs and I’ll ask them
how is it going and they’ll say I think
I’m gonna quit and I’m like why they say
to me I’m not making an impact I’m like
you know you’ve been here eight months
right they treat the sense of
fulfillment or even love like it’s a
scavenger hunt like it’s something you
look for my millennial friends they’ve
gone through so many jobs they’re either
getting fired I mean it was mutual or
they’re quitting because they’re not
making an impact or they’re not finding
anything they’re looking for they’re not
feeling fulfilled as if it’s a scavenger
hunt love a job you find joy from is not
something you discover it’s not like I
found love here it is I found a job I
love that’s not how it works both of
those things require hard work you are
in love because you work very hard every
single day of your life to stay in love
you find a job that brings you ultimate
joy because you work hard every single
day to serve those around you and you
maintain that joy it’s not a discovery
but the problem is the sense of
impatience it’s as if an entire
generation is standing at the foot of a
mountain they know exactly what they
want they can see the summit what they
can’t see is the mountain this large a
movable object that doesn’t mean you
have to do your time that’s not what I’m
talking about take a helicopter climb I
don’t care but there’s still a mountain
life career fulfillment relationships
our journeys the problem is this entire
generation has an institutionalized
sense of impatience and do they have the
patience to go on the journey to
maintain love to feel fulfilled or do
they just quit and on to the next dump
and on to the next ghost and on to the
next
so a friend of mine and I we went for a
run in Central Park the Roadrunners
organization on the weekends they host
races and it’s very common at the end of
the race they’ll have a sponsor who will
give away something apples or bagels or
something and on this particular day
when we got to the end of the run there
were some free bagels and they had
picnic tables set up and on one side was
a group of volunteers on the table were
boxes of bagels and on the other side
was a long line of runners waiting to
get their free bagel so I said to my
friend let’s let’s get a bagel and he
looked at me and said that lines too
long and I said free bagel and he said I
don’t want to wait in line and I was
like free bagel
and he says not let’s it’s too long and
that’s when I realized that there’s two
ways to see the world some people see
the thing that they want and some people
see the thing that prevents them from
getting the thing that they want I could
only see the bagels he could only see
the line and so I walked up to the line
I leaned in between two people put my
hand in the box
and pulled out two bagels and no one get
mad at me because the rule is you can go
after whatever you want
you just cannot deny anyone else to go
after whatever they want
now I had to sacrifice choice I didn’t
get to choose which bagel I got I got
whatever I pulled out but I didn’t have
to wait in line so the point is is you
don’t have to wait in line you don’t
have to do it the way everybody else has
done it you can do it your way you can
break the rules you just can’t get in
the way of somebody else getting what
they want
there was something that spread across
Europe and eventually made its way to a
miracle wearable fever also known as the
Black Death of childbed basically what
was happening is women were giving birth
and they would die within 48 hours after
giving birth
this black death of childbirth was the
ravage of Europe and it got worse and
worse and worse over the course of over
a century in some hospitals it was as
high as 70% of women who gave birth who
would die as a result of giving birth
but this was the renaissance this was
the time of empirical data and science
and we had thrown away things like
tradition and mysticism these were men
of science these were doctors and these
doctors and men of science wanted to
study and try and find the reason for
this black death of childbed and so they
got to work studying and they would
study the corpses of the of the women
who had died and in the morning they
would conduct autopsies and then in the
afternoon they would go and deliver
babies and finish their rounds and it
wasn’t until somewhere in the mid 1800s
that dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes father of
Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes realized that all of these
doctors who conducting autopsies in the
morning weren’t washing their hands
before they delivered babies in the
afternoon and he pointed it out and said
guys you’re the problem and they ignored
him and called him crazy for 30 years
until finally somebody realized that if
they simply washed their hands
it would go away and that’s exactly what
happened when they started sterilizing
their instruments and washing their
hands the black death of childbed
disappeared my point is the lesson here
is sometimes you’re the problem we’ve
seen this happen all too recently with
our new men of science and empirical
studies these men of finance who are
smarter than the rest of us until the
thing collapsed and they blamed
everything else except themselves and my
point is is take accountability for your
actions you can take all the credit in
the world for the things that you do
right as long as you also take
responsibility for the things you do
wrong it must be a balanced equation you
don’t get it one way and not the other
you get to take credit when you also
take accountability
performing under pressure whether it’s
me or anybody else is the same
you know I have the same pressures as
anyone else there’s time there’s
performance there’s financial I mean
there you know there’s deadlines my
pressures are not unique the situations
may be different or you know but but
everybody has the same kinds of
pressures but what I found or what I
find fascinating is the interpretation
of the stimuli if let me let me explain
so I was watching the Olympics this last
summer olympics and I was amazed at how
bad the questions were that the
reporters would ask all the athletes and
almost always they asked the same
question whether they were about to
compete or after they competed were you
nervous right and to a team all the
athletes went no right and what I
realized is it’s not that they’re not
nervous it’s their interpretation of
what’s happening in their bodies I mean
what it what happens when you’re nervous
right your heart rate starts to go
you’re you know you sort of get a little
tense you get a little sweaty right
you have expectation of what’s coming
and we interpreted that is I’m nervous
now what’s the interpretation of excited
your heart rate starts to go you become
you’re anticipating what’s coming right
you get a little sort of like tense it’s
all the same thing it’s the same stimuli
except these athletes these these
Olympic quality athletes have learned to
interpret the stimuli that the rest of
us would say is nervous as excited they
also the same thing no I’m not nervous
I’m excited and so I’ve actually
practiced it just to tell myself when I
start to get nervous that this is
excitement you know and so where when
you used to be speaking for the large
audience somebody’d say how do you feel
it’s a little nervous now when somebody
says how do you feel like really excited
actually and it it came from just sort
of telling myself no no this is
excitement and it becomes a little bit
automatic later on but it’s kind of a
remarkable thing to deal with pressure
by interpreting what your body is
experiencing as excitement rather than
nerves and its really kind of effective
it makes you want to rush for is rather
than pull back and yet it’s the same
experience at the education summit for
Microsoft I would say that 70 percent of
the executives spent about 70 percent of
their presentations talking about how to
beat Apple at the Apple education summit
a hundred percent of the executives
spent a hundred percent of their
presentations talking about how to help
teachers teach and how to help students
learn one is playing this way and one is
playing that way one is playing finite
and the other one is playing infinite
guess which one gets frustrated so at
the end of my talk at Microsoft that
gave me a gift they gave me the new Zune
when it was a thing and let me tell you
this thing was spectacular
it was the most elegant piece of
technology I’d ever used the user
interface was incredible the design was
spectacular I absolutely loved it it was
easy to use and it was bright and
gorgeous and it didn’t work on iTunes
which is a different problem so I
couldn’t use it but but it was amazing
and elegant my god it was elegant
so I’m sitting in the back of a taxi
with a very senior Apple executive sort
of employee number 12 kind of guy and
you know I like to stir pots so I turned
him I said you know Microsoft gave me
their new Zune
and it is so much better than your iPod
touch
and he turned to me and he said I have
no doubt
conversation over
because the infinite player understands
sometimes your head and sometimes you
behind
sometimes your product is better and
sometimes it’s worse the goal isn’t to
be the best every day the goal isn’t out
to outdo your competition every day
that’s a finite construction if I had
said to Microsoft I’ve got the new iPod
touch and it’s so much better than your
Zune they would have said can we see it
what does it do react react react react
finite players play to be bet to beat
the people around them infinite players
play to be better than themselves to
wake up every single day and say how can
we make our company a better version of
itself today than it was yesterday how
can we create a product this week that’s
better than the product we created last
week we also have to play the internet
game it’s not about being ranked number
one it’s not about having more followers
on Twitter than your friends it’s not
about outdoing anyone it’s about how to
outdo yourself it’s not about selling
more books or getting more TED views
than somebody else it’s about how to
make sure that the work that you’re
producing is better than the work you
produced before
you are your competition and that is
what ensures you stay in the game the
longest and that is what ensures you
find joy because the joy comes not from
comparison but from advancement I met my
best when I’m around people who believe
what I believe I know it seems silly but
I try very very hard to sort of stack
the deck you know to put myself in a
position of strength so for example you
know somebody asked me just yesterday
have you ever had sort of a bad you know
engagement I was thinking myself I’m
like not really but it’s not because I’m
some sort of sort of genius a nice
ending anything like that it’s because I
stack the deck it’s because I want to be
there I want to be around people who
want me there in other words if I’m
somebody’s tenth choice and like you
know I’ll probably turn it down whereas
if I’m their first choice they really
won’t be there and so I’m more likely to
have a good engagement they’re
supportive of me I’m supportive of them
and so yeah I’m at my best when I stack
the deck when I choose to be in an
environment where my strengths are right
there the sand Mandella
is a particularly special case study in
the leadership world because he is
universally regarded as a great leader
you can take other personalities and
depending on the nation you go to we
have different opinions about other
personalities but Nelson Mandela across
the world is universally regarded as a
great leader he was actually the son of
a tribal chief and he was asked one day
how did you learn to be a great leader
and he responded that he would go with
his father to tribal meetings
and he remembers two things when his
father would meet with other elders one
they would always sit in a circle and to
his father was always the last to speak
you will be told your whole life that
you need to learn to listen I would say
that you need to learn to be the last to
speak I see it in boardrooms every day
of the week even people who consider
themselves good leaders who may actually
be decent leaders will walk into a room
and say here’s the problem here’s what I
think but I’m interested in your opinion
let’s go around the room it’s too late
the skill to hold your opinions to
yourself until everyone has spoken does
two things one it gives everybody else
the feeling that they have been heard it
give me gives everyone else the ability
to feel that they have contributed and
two you get the benefit of hearing what
everybody else has to think before you
render your opinion the skill is really
to keep your opinions to yourself if you
agree with somebody don’t nod yes if you
disagree with somebody don’t not know
simply sit there take it all in and the
only thing you’re allowed to do is ask
questions so that you can understand
what they mean and why they have the
opinion that they have you must
understand from where they are speaking
why they have the opinion they have not
just what they are saying and at the end
you will get your turn
it sounds easy it’s not practice being
the last to speak
that’s what Nelson Mandela did every
decision we make in our lives as
individuals or as organizations is a
piece of communication it’s our way of
saying something about who we are and
what we believe this is why authenticity
matters this is why you have to say and
do the things you actually believe
because the things you say and do are
symbols of who you are and we look for
those symbols so we can find people who
believe what we believe our very
survival depends on it
so if you’re putting out false symbols
you will attract people to those symbols
but you won’t be able to form trust with
them this is what Tiger Woods did to us
he lied he lied he told us what he
thought we wanted to hear and it was
great and we were drawn to it and all of
us who kind of liked that idea of that
sort of the good guy were drawn to it
until we found out it was a lie
he could have been the bad boy of golf
he could have had all the same
endorsements and had a fantastic career
and still been hailed as one of the
great athletes of our day but he didn’t
he chose to lie
good luck forming trust again tiger we
don’t believe you we don’t trust you the
goal of putting something out there if
you say what you believe and you do what
you believe you will attract people who
believe
if you go to one of your friends and you
say to one of your friends how would you
like me to dress so that you’ll like me
better how would you want me to address
you how do you want me to speak so that
you’ll like me more right your friends
are gonna look at you be like what are
you talking about yeah come on come on
come on what should I wear so that
you’ll find me more appealing and how
would you like me to speak to you so
that you’ll like me more and your
friends are gonna tell you just be
yourself
that’s why I like you I don’t just be
yourself now think about what we do in
industry what we do we do market
research and we go and we ask the
customers what kind of things the way
with what style should we speak to you
how should we decorate ourselves what
kind of things are you drawn to so that
we can do those things do you like us
more it’s just as ridiculous it’s just
as ridiculous organizations should say
and do the things they actually believe
and they will attract people who believe
what they believe or they can choose to
lie and at the slightest hint that they
might be lying cynicism sets in and
people start saying I’m not sure I can
trust these guys because there’s not a
lot of consistency and all the things
they say and do which means they can’t
have a very strong belief set or they’re
lying to me
and we call them into authentic the
entire process of asking other people
who we should be is inauthentic that’s
hilarious to me all these positioning
studies we do are inherent
we’re gonna do a study to find out from
people so we can be more authentic
that’s hilarious
say and do what you actually believe in
the symbols you put out there the things
you say and the things you do those red
hats are ways that people can find you
what you have the ability to do as
designers is create those symbols and
allow people to use those things to say
something about who they are work for
companies work for clients work for
people who you believe what they believe
show up and feel a part of something
bigger than yourself and your part is to
put what they believe into pictures and
words and symbols and graphics so that
other people can use those things to say
something about who they are people put
harley-davidson logos on their body to
say something about who they are
corporate logo ain’t no Procter &
Gamble’s tattooed on anybody’s on
because Harley means something they
stand for something people put that
tattoo on their not to tell you that
they own a motorcycle
they put that tattoo there to tell you
something about themselves do you ever
see anybody with a with a Mac laptop put
a sticker over that beautiful shining
Apple ain’t never gonna happen then how
will you know who I am do you ever see
anybody with a PC break out the Windex
to clean out their computer Mac people
have you ever seen a dirty Mac it
doesn’t exist does not exist why because
it’s Who I am
these are symbols we use the companies
that are crystal clear and what they
believe and their discipline and how
they do it they’re consistent of what
they do and everything they say and
everything they do serves as a symbol of
the set of values and beliefs we use
those symbols to say something about who
we are we surround ourselves with the
people and the products and the brands
that say something about who we are
and when we confine the people who
believe what we believe were weirdly
drawn to them because our very survival
depends on it we need it and so the more
you can give of yourself the more you
can give of what you believe the more
you can discipline with discipline
saying boo and do the things you
actually believe strange things start to
happen passion is not an actionable word
it’s correct you know that those who do
the things that they’re passionate about
do better but it’s not helpful advice
and so the question is where does
passion come from passion is a result
passion as an energy passion is the
feeling you have when you’re engaged in
something that you love passion is the
feeling you have that you would probably
do this for free you know and you can’t
believe somebody pays you to do it you
know and I think we mistake that passion
is something we do in our private lives
but it shouldn’t be done you know in our
careers for example and I’m a firm
believer that you are who you are and
anybody who says I’m different at home
than I am at work and one of those two
places you’re lying and the goal is to
make everything you do in home and at
work something that you have excitement
to do so how do you find the things that
you’re excited to do well it’s actually
easier than you think what are the
things that you love to do what are the
things that you would do for free you
know how can you recreate that feeling
and and be paying for it so what are the
things that I do on the weekend right I
love I’m very involved in the art world
I love to go to museums and galleries
but I love to go see dance and
performances because I want to see how
others are interpreting the world so
that inspires me new ideas new thoughts
new ways of looking at the world are
things that interest me privately and I
seek it out and pay money for it
right so does that mean I have to have a
career in the arts no it means I have to
have a career where new ideas are
explored where people are experimenting
and trying things out and I have to
explore new ideas and try things out and
I
just as excited to go to work everyday
as I am just you know go do something on
a Saturday night and so the idea of
finding your passion is ironically
simple because you should be doing stuff
that you enjoy sometimes what is the
stuff that you enjoy and then what is
the stuff that you love who the people
that you love and what are this or they
all have in common how do you explain
when things don’t go as we assumed or
better how do you explain when others
are able to achieve things that seem to
defy all of the assumptions for example
why is Apple so innovative year after
year after year after year they’re more
innovative than all their competition
and yet they’re just a computer company
they’re just like everyone else they
have the same access to the same talent
the same agencies the same consultants
the same media then why is it that they
seem to have something different why is
it that Martin Luther King led the civil
rights movement he wasn’t the only man
who suffered in a pre-civil Rights
America and he certainly wasn’t the only
great orator of the day why him and why
is it that the Wright brothers were able
to figure out control powered man flight
when there were certainly other teams
who were better qualified but her funded
and they didn’t achieve powered man
flight and the Wright brothers beat them
to it there’s something else at play
here about three and a half years ago I
made a discovery and this discovery
profoundly changed my view on how I
thought the world worked and it even
profoundly changed the way in which I
operate in it as it turns out there’s a
pattern as it turns out all the great
and inspiring leaders and organizations
in the world whether it’s Apple or
Martin Luther King or the Wright
brothers they all think act and
communicate the exact same way and it’s
the complete opposite to everyone else
all I did was codify it and it’s
probably the world’s simplest idea I
call it the Golden Circle
[Music]
why how what this little idea explains
why some organizations and some leaders
are able to inspire where others aren’t
let me define the terms really quickly
every single person every single
organization on the planet knows what
they do 100 percent some know how they
do it whether you call it your
differentiating value proposition or
your proprietary process or your USP but
very very few people or organizations
know why they do what they do and by why
I don’t need to make a profit that’s a
result it’s always a result by why I
mean what’s your purpose what’s your
cause what’s your belief why does your
organization exist why do you get out of
bed in the morning and why should anyone
care well as a result the way we think
the way we act the way we communicate is
from the outside in it’s obvious we go
from the clearest thing to the fuzziest
thing but the inspired leaders in the
inspire or inspired organizations
regardless of their size regardless of
their industry all think act and
communicate from the inside out
let me give you an example I use Apple
because they’re easy to understand and
everybody gets it if Apple were like
everyone else a marketing message from
them might sound like this
we make great computers they’re
beautifully designed simple to use and
user friendly wanna buy one and that’s
how most of us communicate that’s how
most marketing is done the time of sales
done and that’s how most of us
communicate interpersonally we say what
we do we say how we’re different or how
we better and we expect some sort of
behavior or purchase a vote something
like that here’s our new law firm we
have the best lawyers with the biggest
clients we have you know we always
perform for our clients do business with
us here’s our new car it gets great gas
mileage it has you know leather seats by
our car but it’s uninspiring here’s how
Apple actually communicates
everything we do 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 right if you’re ready
to buy a computer for me all I did was
reverse the order of the information
would have proves to us is that people
don’t buy what you do people buy why you
do it people don’t buy what you do they
buy why you do it
this explains why every single person in
this room is perfectly comfortable
buying a computer from Apple but we’re
also perfectly comfortable buying an mp3
player from Apple or a phone from Apple
or a DVR from Apple but as I said before
Apple’s just a computer company there’s
nothing that distinguishes them
structurally for many of their
competitors their competitors are all
equally qualified to make all of these
products in fact they tried a few years
ago gateway came out with flat-screen
TVs there
we qualified to make flat-screen tvs
they’ve been making some flat-screen
monitors for years nobody bought one
Dell came out with mp3 players and PDAs
and they make great quality products and
they can make perfectly well design
products and nobody bought one in fact
talking about it now we can’t even
imagine buying an mp3 player from Dell
why would you buy an mp3 player from a
computer company but we do it every day
people don’t buy what you do they buy
why you do it the goal is not to do
business with anybody with everybody who
needs what you have the goal is to do
business with people who believe what
you believe
here’s the best part none of what I’m
telling you is my opinion it’s all
grounded in the tenets of biology not
psychology biology if you look at a
cross-section of the human brain looking
from the top down what you see is the
human brain is actually broken into
three major components that correlate
perfectly with the golden circle our
newest brain our Homo Sapien brain our
neocortex corresponds with the what
level the neocortex is responsible for
all of our rational and analytical
thought and language the middle two
sections make up our limbic brains and
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 when we communicate from the
outside in yes people can understand
vast amounts of complicated information
like features and benefits and facts and
figures
it just doesn’t drive behavior when we
communicate from the inside out we’re
talking directly to the part of the
brain that controls behavior and then we
allow people to rationalize it with the
tangible things we say and do this is
where gut decisions come from you know
sometimes you can give somebody all the
facts and your figures and they say I
know what all the facts in detail say
but it just doesn’t feel right why would
we use that verb it doesn’t feel right
because the part of the brain that
controls decision-making doesn’t control
language and the best we can muster up
is I don’t know it just doesn’t feel
right or sometimes you say you’re
leading with your heart or you’re
leading with your soul well I hate to
break it to you though zoned the other
body parts controlling your behavior
it’s all happening here in your limbic
brain
the part of the brain that controls
decision-making and not language but if
you don’t know why you do what you do
and people respond to why you do what
you do then how will anybody how will
you ever get people to vote for you or
buy something from you or more
importantly be loyal and want to be a
part of what it is what you bet you do
again the goal is not just as to sell
people who need what you have the goal
is to sell to people who believe what
you believe the goal is not just to hire
people who need a job it’s to hire
people who believe what you believe I
always say that you know this if you if
you if you hire people just because they
can do a job they’ll work for your money
but if you hire people who believe what
you believe they work for you with blood
and sweat and tears and no air nowhere
else is there a better example of this
than with the Wright brothers most
people don’t know about Samuel Pierpont
Langley and back in the early 20th
century the pursuit of powered man
flight was like the dot-com of the day
everybody was trying it and Samuel
Pierpont Langley had what we assume to
be the recipe for success I mean even
now we you ask people why did your
product or why did your company fail and
people always give you the premium same
permutation of the same three things
undercapitalized the wrong people bad
market conditions it was the same three
things so let’s explore that Samuel
Pierpont Langley was given $50,000 by
the War Department to figure out this
flying machine money was no problem he
held a seat at Harvard and worked at the
Smithsonian and was extremely
well-connected he knew all the big minds
of the day he hired the best minds
money could find and the market
conditions were fantastic
the New York Times followed him around
everywhere and everyone was rooting for
Langley and how come we’ve never heard
of Samuel Pierpont Langley a few hundred
miles away in Dayton Ohio Orville and
Wilbur Wright they had none of what we
consider to be the recipe for success
they had no money they paid for their
dream with the proceeds from their
bicycle shop not a single person on the
Wright brothers team had a college
education
not even Orville or Wilbur and the New
York Times followed them around nowhere
the difference was Orville and Wilbur
who were driven by a caused by a purpose
by a belief they believed that if they
could figure out this flying machine
it’ll change the course of the world
Samuel Pierpont Langley was different he
wanted to be rich and he wanted to be
famous
he was in pursuit of the result he was
in pursuit of the riches and lo and
behold look what happened the people who
believed
in the Wright brothers dream worked with
them from with blood and sweat and tears
the others just worked for the paycheck
and they tell stories of how every time
the Wright brothers went out they would
have to take five sets of parts because
that’s how many times they would crash
before they came in for supper and
eventually on December 17th 1903 the
Wright brothers took flight and no one
was there to even experience it we found
out about it a few days later and
further proof that Langley was motivated
by the wrong thing the day the Wright
brothers took flight he quit he could
have said that’s an amazing discovery
guys and I will improve upon your
technology but he didn’t he wasn’t first
he didn’t get rich he didn’t get famous
so he quit people don’t buy what you do
they buy why you do it and if you talk
about what you believe you will attract
those who believe what you believe well
why is it important to attract those who
believe what you believe something
called the law of diffusion of
innovation and if you don’t know the law
you definitely know the terminology 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 34% are your early majority your
late majority and your laggards the only
reason these people by touch-tone phones
is because you can’t buy rotary phones
anymore
we all sit at various places at various
times on the scale but with the law of
diffusion of innovation tells us is that
if you want mass-market success or
mass-market acceptance of an idea you
cannot have it until you achieve this
tipping point between 15 and 18 percent
market penetration and then the system
tips and I love asking businesses what’s
your conversion on new business and they
love to tell you oh it’s about 10%
proudly well you can trip over 10% of
the customers we all have about 10% who
just get it that’s how we describe them
right that’s like that gut feeling oh
they just get it the problem is how do
you find the ones that just get it
before you’re doing business with them
versus the ones who don’t get it
so it’s this here this little gap that
you have to close as Jeffrey Moore calls
it crossing the chasm because you see
the early majority will not try
something until someone else has tried
it first and these guys the innovators
in the early adopters they’re
comfortable making those gut decisions
they’re more comfortable making those
intuitive decisions that are driven by
what they believe about the world and
not just what product is available these
are the people who stood on line for six
hours to buy an iPhone when they first
came out when you could have just walked
into the store the next week and bought
one off the shelf these are the people
who spent $40,000 on flat-screen TVs
when they first came out even though the
technology was substandard and by the
way they didn’t do it because the
technology was so great they did it for
themselves it’s because they wanted to
be first people don’t buy what you do
they buy why you do it and what you do
simply proves what you believe in fact
people will do the things that prove
what they believe the reason that person
bought the iPhone on the first in the
first six hours of stood and signal in
line for 6 hours was because of what
they believed about the world and how
they wanted everybody to see them they
were first
people don’t buy what you do they buy
why you do it so let me give you a
famous example a famous failure and a
famous success of the law of diffusion
of innovation first the famous failure
it’s a commercial example as we said
before a second ago the recipe for
success is money and the right people in
the right market conditions right you
should have success then look at TiVo
from the time TiVo came out about eight
or nine years ago to this current day
they are the single highest quality
product on the market hands down there
is no dispute they were extremely
well-funded market conditions were
fantastic I mean we use TiVo as a verb
like TiVo stuff on my piece of junk Time
Warner DVR all the time
Patito is a commercial failure they’ve
never made money and when they went IPO
their stock was at about 30 or 40
dollars then plummeted and it’s never
traded above 10 in fact I don’t think
it’s even traded about 6 except for a
couple of little spikes because you see
when TiVo launched their product they
told us all what they had they said we
have a product that pauses live TV skips
commercials rewinds live TV and
memorizes your viewing habits without
you even asking and the cynical majority
said we don’t believe you we don’t need
it we don’t like it you’re scaring us
what if they had 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 skips commercials
memorizes your viewing habits etc etc
people don’t buy what you do they buy
why you do it and what you do simply
serves as the proof of what you believe
now let me give you a successful example
of the law of diffusion of innovation in
the summer of 1963 250,000 people showed
up on the mall in Washington to hear dr.
King speak they sent out no invitations
and there was no website to check the
date how do you do that well dr. King
wasn’t the only man in America who was
the who’s a great orator he wasn’t the
only man in America who suffered in a
pre-civil Rights America in fact some of
his ideas were bad but he had a gift he
didn’t go around telling people what
needed to change in America you know he
went around and told people what he
believed I believe I believe I believe
he told people and people who believed
what he believed took his cause and they
made it their own and they told people
and some of those people created
structures to get the word out to even
more people and lo and behold 250,000
people showed up on the right day on the
right time to hear him speak how many of
them showed up for him zero they showed
up for themselves it’s what they
believed about America that got them to
travel on a bus for eight hours to stand
in the Sun in Washington for in the
middle of August it’s what they believed
and it wasn’t about black versus white
25% of the audience was white dr. King
believed that there are two types of
laws in this world those that are made
by a higher authority Authority and
those that are made by man and not until
all the laws that are made by man are
consistent with the laws that are made
by the higher authority while we live in
a just world it just so happens that the
civil rights movement was the perfect
thing to help him bring his cause to
life we followed him not for him but for
ourselves and by the way he gave the I
have a dream speech not the I have a
and speech listen to politicians now
with the comprehensive 12-point plans
are not inspiring anybody because there
were leaders and there are those who
lead leaders hold a position of power or
authority but those who lead inspire us
with other individuals or organizations
we follow those who lead because we have
to but because we want to we follow
those who lead not for them but for
ourselves and it’s those who start with
Y that have the ability to inspire those
around them or find others who inspire
them thank you very much
[Music]
decision making is a process right the
question is what filters are you using
to make decisions are you making
decisions based on the financial rewards
are you making decisions based on how
easy the work will be I mean I remember
in college you know they would give you
this book where they all the students
would rate the classes and they would
rate things like how easy the class was
and how you know how much do they like
the professor and you know the first
year I picked all my classes based on it
workload and I picked everything a low
workload you know and pretty bored
didn’t work very hard which was fine but
nothing was dynamic and nothing really
excited me and I thank goodness learned
that and so the second year I picked all
my classes by professor rating
regardless of the workload so every
class I had I had these dynamic amazing
incredible human beings passing on their
knowledge
and you were excited to work hard for
them you know and so again what the
question is what are the filters we’re
using and so if you’re only chasing the
mighty dollar then you will have jobs
that’ll pay you a little more than the
last but are you enjoying yourself and I
talked to a guy recently who isn’t it
he’s in bad shape
like he really hates his life and he’s
really depressed he doesn’t know what to
do and so we were going through all his
old jobs you know and I said give me a
job that you’ve loved and he had every
single job he’s chosen out of college he
picked because of the the money and if
something offered him more somewhere
else he took it you know regardless and
and and the amazing thing is he
plateaued because if you’re only chasing
the result if you’re only chasing the
thing that makes it easy right then
eventually you will get bored or they’ll
get bored of you right and you plateau
in other words chasing the whole mighty
dollar if that’s your only thing it
eventually flattens out whereas if
you’re chasing the thing that excites
you the human beings to be around the
work that excites you the stuff that you
know you know you you can get passionate
about you know
the the irony is is you’ll actually make
way way more right because you’re
excited and they appreciate your
excitement and they reward your
excitement and you’re better at your
work because you want to work harder and
all of that stuff you don’t have to
strain to work harder so decision-making
is simply a matter of filters you know
and so I’ve made decisions in my life
that I would rather be happy than right
I’d rather do good then then get rich
and and so the decisions I make put me
in positions where when I leave any
engagement when I leave any meeting I
feel that I’ve contributed right rare
are the times anymore where you walk
arguing just think of the money just
think of the money think of the money
you know I I because that doesn’t feel
nice and and the experience I have I
don’t enjoy traveling to them and I
don’t enjoy traveling home we have an
amazing experience I am looking forward
to getting there and I’m excited when I
leave you know so it’s just decision
made decision-making is just a matter of
what filters you use and if you’re if
you’re good about keeping those filters
up and clear then then make your
decision I don’t judge anybody by how if
they choose to use different filters
these are just the filters I choose to
live my life you know not right or wrong
just
those are my decisions you know that’s
my filter
[Music]
how can you help the human race how can
you help the human race human species
progress
I’m not joking either this is something
I think we all have to be aware of at
the end of the day the human animals are
social animal and our very survival
depends on our ability to form
communities to form cultures
what’s a community what’s a culture it’s
a group of people with a common set of
values and beliefs right what’s a
country it’s a group of people with a
common set of values and beliefs
what’s a company it should be a group of
people with a common set of values and
beliefs when we’re surrounded by people
who believe what we believe something
remarkable happens Trust emerges and
make no mistake of it Trust is a feeling
a distinctly human feeling you know we
all have friends we’re total screw-ups
and yet we still trust them Trust is not
a checklist simply doing everything you
say you’re going to do doesn’t that much
does not mean people will inherently
trust you it just means you’re reliable
we need trust right we need trust when
we’re surrounded by people who believe
what we believe and trust starts to
emerge and we trust them and they trust
us we’re more willing to take risks
we’re more willing to experiment which
requires failure we’re more willing to
explore and go somewhere with that no
one has ever gone before
with the confidence that if we fail if
we trip over if we turn our backs that
those within our community those who we
trust and who trust us will look after
us while we’re gone we’ll pick us up
when we fall over
we’ll help us when we’re hurt our very
survival depends on it we’re not good at
everything we’re not good by ourselves
you know if I send you out to go fight a
saber-toothed tiger by yourself odds are
Tiger one you zero it’s not gonna go
very well but if you go out as a group
we’re pretty damn amazing and the reason
is is because we all have our strengths
and we all of our certain weaknesses and
the goal is not to fix your weaknesses
the goal is to amplify your strengths
and surround yourself with the people
who can do what you
paddu but it’s not just based on skills
and an application and experience it’s
based on what you believe it’s based on
what you believe you see simply being
good at something and having somebody
else being good what you’re no good at
does not mean you will trust each other
trust the sense of trust comes from the
sense of common values and common
beliefs and prove it
how many of you from New York okay
bunchy you are you friends with
everybody in New York why not why not
but when you go to Los Angeles and you
meet someone from New York you’re like
hey I’m from New York and you’re best
friends right and when you go to France
you there you are on the Paris Metro
minding your own business and you’re
here in American acts behind you you
turn around and say hey where’re you
from
they say Los Angeles you like hey I’m
from New York and you’re best friends
because when you’re surrounded by people
who don’t believe what you believe when
you’re in a strange environment where
you don’t feel comfortable you look for
anyone who may share some of the same
values and beliefs that you have and you
start to form a very wheat real and very
intense bond with them simply because
you know that they have a basic
understanding of how you grew up of the
things that you care about of the life
that you live back home well the same is
true when we go to work do we want to go
to work with people who understand us
who believe what we believe who have a
similar view of the world that has
nothing to do with their opinions and
the differences that we share that’s
good that’s called diversity that’s
called advantages to problem-solving
which is we can all look at the same
thing from a different angle and come up
with solutions what I’m talking about is
why should you help each other in the
first place what are you in pursuit of
now the question is is what creates that
sense of values and believes what
creates that sense of trust right our
very human instinct we know how to find
people who believe what we believe our
survival depends on it we’re
biologically gifted with this idea 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 gonna strike up conversations
you’re gonna start talking to people and
either you’ll have a good feeling about
them or you won’t either you’ll have
chemistry whatever that means or you
don’t sometimes it’s quick sometimes
it’s slow but we know how to do it it’s
called making friends
it’s called dating it’s called
networking we have the innate ability to
do it
there was a former Undersecretary of
Defense who was invited to give a speech
at a large conference about a thousand
people and he was standing on the stage
with his cup of coffee and a Styrofoam
cup giving his prepared remarks with his
PowerPoint behind him and he took a sip
of his coffee and he smiled and he
looked down at the coffee and then he
went off-script and he said you know
last year I spoke at this exact same
conference last year I was still the
undersecretary and when I spoke here
last year they flew me here business
class and when I arrived at the airport
there was somebody waiting for me to
take me to my hotel and they took me to
my hotel and they had already checked me
in and they just took me up to my room
and the next morning I came downstairs
and there was someone waiting in the
lobby to greet me and they drove me to
this here same venue they took me
through the back entrance and took me
into the green room and handed me a copy
a cup of coffee in a beautiful ceramic
cup he says I’m no longer the
undersecretary I flew here coach I took
a taxi to my hotel and I checked myself
in when I came down the lobby this
morning I took another taxi to this
venue I came in the front door and found
my way backstage and when I asked
someone do you have any coffee he
pointed to the coffee machine in the
corner and I poured myself a cup of
coffee into this here Styrofoam cup
he says the lesson is the ceramic cup
was never meant for me it was meant for
the position I held I deserved a
styrofoam
remember this as you gain fame as you
gain fortune as you gain position and
seniority people will treat you better
they will hold doors open for you they
will get you a cup of tea and coffee
without you even asking they will call
you sir and ma’am and they will give you
stuff none of that stuff is meant for
you that stuff is meant for the position
you hold it is meant for the level that
you have achieved of leader or success
or whatever you want to call it but you
will always deserve a Styrofoam cup
remember that remember that lesson of
humility and gratitude you can accept
all the free stuff you can accept all
the perks absolutely you can enjoy them
but just be grateful for them and know
that they’re not for you I remember
getting off the Acela I took the Acela
from New York to Washington DC and I got
off the train like everybody else and I
was walking down the platform like
everyone else and I walked past general
Nordy Schwartz who used to be the chief
of staff of the United States Air Force
the head of the Air Force and here I did
you see a guy in a suit slepping his own
suitcase down the platform just like me
and just a couple months ago he was
flying on private jets and a an
entourage and other people carried his
light luggage
he no longer held the position and so
now he got to drag his own suitcase and
never did it sort of remind me more that
none of us deserve the perks that we get
we all deserve a Styrofoam cup
you
ambitious idealistic hard-working kids
and there right out of college there in
their entry-level jobs and I’ll ask them
how is it going and they’ll say I think
I’m gonna quit and I’m like why they say
to me I’m not making an impact I’m like
you know you’ve been here eight months
right they treat the sense of
fulfillment or even love like it’s a
scavenger hunt like it’s something you
look for my millennial friends they’ve
gone through so many jobs they’re either
getting fired I mean it was mutual or
they’re quitting because they’re not
making an impact or they’re not finding
anything they’re looking for they’re not
feeling fulfilled as if it’s a scavenger
hunt love a job you find joy from is not
something you discover it’s not like I
found love here it is I found a job I
love that’s not how it works both of
those things require hard work you are
in love because you work very hard every
single day of your life to stay in love
you find a job that brings you ultimate
joy because you work hard every single
day to serve those around you and you
maintain that joy it’s not a discovery
but the problem is the sense of
impatience it’s as if an entire
generation is standing at the foot of a
mountain they know exactly what they
want they can see the summit what they
can’t see is the mountain this large a
movable object that doesn’t mean you
have to do your time that’s not what I’m
talking about take a helicopter climb I
don’t care but there’s still a mountain
life career fulfillment relationships
our journeys the problem is this entire
generation has an institutionalized
sense of impatience and do they have the
patience to go on the journey to
maintain love to feel fulfilled or do
they just quit and on to the next dump
and on to the next ghost and on to the
next
so a friend of mine and I we went for a
run in Central Park the Roadrunners
organization on the weekends they host
races and it’s very common at the end of
the race they’ll have a sponsor who will
give away something apples or bagels or
something and on this particular day
when we got to the end of the run there
were some free bagels and they had
picnic tables set up and on one side was
a group of volunteers on the table were
boxes of bagels and on the other side
was a long line of runners waiting to
get their free bagel so I said to my
friend let’s let’s get a bagel and he
looked at me and said that lines too
long and I said free bagel and he said I
don’t want to wait in line and I was
like free bagel
and he says not let’s it’s too long and
that’s when I realized that there’s two
ways to see the world some people see
the thing that they want and some people
see the thing that prevents them from
getting the thing that they want I could
only see the bagels he could only see
the line and so I walked up to the line
I leaned in between two people put my
hand in the box
and pulled out two bagels and no one get
mad at me because the rule is you can go
after whatever you want
you just cannot deny anyone else to go
after whatever they want
now I had to sacrifice choice I didn’t
get to choose which bagel I got I got
whatever I pulled out but I didn’t have
to wait in line so the point is is you
don’t have to wait in line you don’t
have to do it the way everybody else has
done it you can do it your way you can
break the rules you just can’t get in
the way of somebody else getting what
they want
there was something that spread across
Europe and eventually made its way to a
miracle wearable fever also known as the
Black Death of childbed basically what
was happening is women were giving birth
and they would die within 48 hours after
giving birth
this black death of childbirth was the
ravage of Europe and it got worse and
worse and worse over the course of over
a century in some hospitals it was as
high as 70% of women who gave birth who
would die as a result of giving birth
but this was the renaissance this was
the time of empirical data and science
and we had thrown away things like
tradition and mysticism these were men
of science these were doctors and these
doctors and men of science wanted to
study and try and find the reason for
this black death of childbed and so they
got to work studying and they would
study the corpses of the of the women
who had died and in the morning they
would conduct autopsies and then in the
afternoon they would go and deliver
babies and finish their rounds and it
wasn’t until somewhere in the mid 1800s
that dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes father of
Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes realized that all of these
doctors who conducting autopsies in the
morning weren’t washing their hands
before they delivered babies in the
afternoon and he pointed it out and said
guys you’re the problem and they ignored
him and called him crazy for 30 years
until finally somebody realized that if
they simply washed their hands
it would go away and that’s exactly what
happened when they started sterilizing
their instruments and washing their
hands the black death of childbed
disappeared my point is the lesson here
is sometimes you’re the problem we’ve
seen this happen all too recently with
our new men of science and empirical
studies these men of finance who are
smarter than the rest of us until the
thing collapsed and they blamed
everything else except themselves and my
point is is take accountability for your
actions you can take all the credit in
the world for the things that you do
right as long as you also take
responsibility for the things you do
wrong it must be a balanced equation you
don’t get it one way and not the other
you get to take credit when you also
take accountability
performing under pressure whether it’s
me or anybody else is the same
you know I have the same pressures as
anyone else there’s time there’s
performance there’s financial I mean
there you know there’s deadlines my
pressures are not unique the situations
may be different or you know but but
everybody has the same kinds of
pressures but what I found or what I
find fascinating is the interpretation
of the stimuli if let me let me explain
so I was watching the Olympics this last
summer olympics and I was amazed at how
bad the questions were that the
reporters would ask all the athletes and
almost always they asked the same
question whether they were about to
compete or after they competed were you
nervous right and to a team all the
athletes went no right and what I
realized is it’s not that they’re not
nervous it’s their interpretation of
what’s happening in their bodies I mean
what it what happens when you’re nervous
right your heart rate starts to go
you’re you know you sort of get a little
tense you get a little sweaty right
you have expectation of what’s coming
and we interpreted that is I’m nervous
now what’s the interpretation of excited
your heart rate starts to go you become
you’re anticipating what’s coming right
you get a little sort of like tense it’s
all the same thing it’s the same stimuli
except these athletes these these
Olympic quality athletes have learned to
interpret the stimuli that the rest of
us would say is nervous as excited they
also the same thing no I’m not nervous
I’m excited and so I’ve actually
practiced it just to tell myself when I
start to get nervous that this is
excitement you know and so where when
you used to be speaking for the large
audience somebody’d say how do you feel
it’s a little nervous now when somebody
says how do you feel like really excited
actually and it it came from just sort
of telling myself no no this is
excitement and it becomes a little bit
automatic later on but it’s kind of a
remarkable thing to deal with pressure
by interpreting what your body is
experiencing as excitement rather than
nerves and its really kind of effective
it makes you want to rush for is rather
than pull back and yet it’s the same
experience at the education summit for
Microsoft I would say that 70 percent of
the executives spent about 70 percent of
their presentations talking about how to
beat Apple at the Apple education summit
a hundred percent of the executives
spent a hundred percent of their
presentations talking about how to help
teachers teach and how to help students
learn one is playing this way and one is
playing that way one is playing finite
and the other one is playing infinite
guess which one gets frustrated so at
the end of my talk at Microsoft that
gave me a gift they gave me the new Zune
when it was a thing and let me tell you
this thing was spectacular
it was the most elegant piece of
technology I’d ever used the user
interface was incredible the design was
spectacular I absolutely loved it it was
easy to use and it was bright and
gorgeous and it didn’t work on iTunes
which is a different problem so I
couldn’t use it but but it was amazing
and elegant my god it was elegant
so I’m sitting in the back of a taxi
with a very senior Apple executive sort
of employee number 12 kind of guy and
you know I like to stir pots so I turned
him I said you know Microsoft gave me
their new Zune
and it is so much better than your iPod
touch
and he turned to me and he said I have
no doubt
conversation over
because the infinite player understands
sometimes your head and sometimes you
behind
sometimes your product is better and
sometimes it’s worse the goal isn’t to
be the best every day the goal isn’t out
to outdo your competition every day
that’s a finite construction if I had
said to Microsoft I’ve got the new iPod
touch and it’s so much better than your
Zune they would have said can we see it
what does it do react react react react
finite players play to be bet to beat
the people around them infinite players
play to be better than themselves to
wake up every single day and say how can
we make our company a better version of
itself today than it was yesterday how
can we create a product this week that’s
better than the product we created last
week we also have to play the internet
game it’s not about being ranked number
one it’s not about having more followers
on Twitter than your friends it’s not
about outdoing anyone it’s about how to
outdo yourself it’s not about selling
more books or getting more TED views
than somebody else it’s about how to
make sure that the work that you’re
producing is better than the work you
produced before
you are your competition and that is
what ensures you stay in the game the
longest and that is what ensures you
find joy because the joy comes not from
comparison but from advancement I met my
best when I’m around people who believe
what I believe I know it seems silly but
I try very very hard to sort of stack
the deck you know to put myself in a
position of strength so for example you
know somebody asked me just yesterday
have you ever had sort of a bad you know
engagement I was thinking myself I’m
like not really but it’s not because I’m
some sort of sort of genius a nice
ending anything like that it’s because I
stack the deck it’s because I want to be
there I want to be around people who
want me there in other words if I’m
somebody’s tenth choice and like you
know I’ll probably turn it down whereas
if I’m their first choice they really
won’t be there and so I’m more likely to
have a good engagement they’re
supportive of me I’m supportive of them
and so yeah I’m at my best when I stack
the deck when I choose to be in an
environment where my strengths are right
there the sand Mandella
is a particularly special case study in
the leadership world because he is
universally regarded as a great leader
you can take other personalities and
depending on the nation you go to we
have different opinions about other
personalities but Nelson Mandela across
the world is universally regarded as a
great leader he was actually the son of
a tribal chief and he was asked one day
how did you learn to be a great leader
and he responded that he would go with
his father to tribal meetings
and he remembers two things when his
father would meet with other elders one
they would always sit in a circle and to
his father was always the last to speak
you will be told your whole life that
you need to learn to listen I would say
that you need to learn to be the last to
speak I see it in boardrooms every day
of the week even people who consider
themselves good leaders who may actually
be decent leaders will walk into a room
and say here’s the problem here’s what I
think but I’m interested in your opinion
let’s go around the room it’s too late
the skill to hold your opinions to
yourself until everyone has spoken does
two things one it gives everybody else
the feeling that they have been heard it
give me gives everyone else the ability
to feel that they have contributed and
two you get the benefit of hearing what
everybody else has to think before you
render your opinion the skill is really
to keep your opinions to yourself if you
agree with somebody don’t nod yes if you
disagree with somebody don’t not know
simply sit there take it all in and the
only thing you’re allowed to do is ask
questions so that you can understand
what they mean and why they have the
opinion that they have you must
understand from where they are speaking
why they have the opinion they have not
just what they are saying and at the end
you will get your turn
it sounds easy it’s not practice being
the last to speak
that’s what Nelson Mandela did every
decision we make in our lives as
individuals or as organizations is a
piece of communication it’s our way of
saying something about who we are and
what we believe this is why authenticity
matters this is why you have to say and
do the things you actually believe
because the things you say and do are
symbols of who you are and we look for
those symbols so we can find people who
believe what we believe our very
survival depends on it
so if you’re putting out false symbols
you will attract people to those symbols
but you won’t be able to form trust with
them this is what Tiger Woods did to us
he lied he lied he told us what he
thought we wanted to hear and it was
great and we were drawn to it and all of
us who kind of liked that idea of that
sort of the good guy were drawn to it
until we found out it was a lie
he could have been the bad boy of golf
he could have had all the same
endorsements and had a fantastic career
and still been hailed as one of the
great athletes of our day but he didn’t
he chose to lie
good luck forming trust again tiger we
don’t believe you we don’t trust you the
goal of putting something out there if
you say what you believe and you do what
you believe you will attract people who
believe
if you go to one of your friends and you
say to one of your friends how would you
like me to dress so that you’ll like me
better how would you want me to address
you how do you want me to speak so that
you’ll like me more right your friends
are gonna look at you be like what are
you talking about yeah come on come on
come on what should I wear so that
you’ll find me more appealing and how
would you like me to speak to you so
that you’ll like me more and your
friends are gonna tell you just be
yourself
that’s why I like you I don’t just be
yourself now think about what we do in
industry what we do we do market
research and we go and we ask the
customers what kind of things the way
with what style should we speak to you
how should we decorate ourselves what
kind of things are you drawn to so that
we can do those things do you like us
more it’s just as ridiculous it’s just
as ridiculous organizations should say
and do the things they actually believe
and they will attract people who believe
what they believe or they can choose to
lie and at the slightest hint that they
might be lying cynicism sets in and
people start saying I’m not sure I can
trust these guys because there’s not a
lot of consistency and all the things
they say and do which means they can’t
have a very strong belief set or they’re
lying to me
and we call them into authentic the
entire process of asking other people
who we should be is inauthentic that’s
hilarious to me all these positioning
studies we do are inherent
we’re gonna do a study to find out from
people so we can be more authentic
that’s hilarious
say and do what you actually believe in
the symbols you put out there the things
you say and the things you do those red
hats are ways that people can find you
what you have the ability to do as
designers is create those symbols and
allow people to use those things to say
something about who they are work for
companies work for clients work for
people who you believe what they believe
show up and feel a part of something
bigger than yourself and your part is to
put what they believe into pictures and
words and symbols and graphics so that
other people can use those things to say
something about who they are people put
harley-davidson logos on their body to
say something about who they are
corporate logo ain’t no Procter &
Gamble’s tattooed on anybody’s on
because Harley means something they
stand for something people put that
tattoo on their not to tell you that
they own a motorcycle
they put that tattoo there to tell you
something about themselves do you ever
see anybody with a with a Mac laptop put
a sticker over that beautiful shining
Apple ain’t never gonna happen then how
will you know who I am do you ever see
anybody with a PC break out the Windex
to clean out their computer Mac people
have you ever seen a dirty Mac it
doesn’t exist does not exist why because
it’s Who I am
these are symbols we use the companies
that are crystal clear and what they
believe and their discipline and how
they do it they’re consistent of what
they do and everything they say and
everything they do serves as a symbol of
the set of values and beliefs we use
those symbols to say something about who
we are we surround ourselves with the
people and the products and the brands
that say something about who we are
and when we confine the people who
believe what we believe were weirdly
drawn to them because our very survival
depends on it we need it and so the more
you can give of yourself the more you
can give of what you believe the more
you can discipline with discipline
saying boo and do the things you
actually believe strange things start to
happen passion is not an actionable word
it’s correct you know that those who do
the things that they’re passionate about
do better but it’s not helpful advice
and so the question is where does
passion come from passion is a result
passion as an energy passion is the
feeling you have when you’re engaged in
something that you love passion is the
feeling you have that you would probably
do this for free you know and you can’t
believe somebody pays you to do it you
know and I think we mistake that passion
is something we do in our private lives
but it shouldn’t be done you know in our
careers for example and I’m a firm
believer that you are who you are and
anybody who says I’m different at home
than I am at work and one of those two
places you’re lying and the goal is to
make everything you do in home and at
work something that you have excitement
to do so how do you find the things that
you’re excited to do well it’s actually
easier than you think what are the
things that you love to do what are the
things that you would do for free you
know how can you recreate that feeling
and and be paying for it so what are the
things that I do on the weekend right I
love I’m very involved in the art world
I love to go to museums and galleries
but I love to go see dance and
performances because I want to see how
others are interpreting the world so
that inspires me new ideas new thoughts
new ways of looking at the world are
things that interest me privately and I
seek it out and pay money for it
right so does that mean I have to have a
career in the arts no it means I have to
have a career where new ideas are
explored where people are experimenting
and trying things out and I have to
explore new ideas and try things out and
I
just as excited to go to work everyday
as I am just you know go do something on
a Saturday night and so the idea of
finding your passion is ironically
simple because you should be doing stuff
that you enjoy sometimes what is the
stuff that you enjoy and then what is
the stuff that you love who the people
that you love and what are this or they
all have in common how do you explain
when things don’t go as we assumed or
better how do you explain when others
are able to achieve things that seem to
defy all of the assumptions for example
why is Apple so innovative year after
year after year after year they’re more
innovative than all their competition
and yet they’re just a computer company
they’re just like everyone else they
have the same access to the same talent
the same agencies the same consultants
the same media then why is it that they
seem to have something different why is
it that Martin Luther King led the civil
rights movement he wasn’t the only man
who suffered in a pre-civil Rights
America and he certainly wasn’t the only
great orator of the day why him and why
is it that the Wright brothers were able
to figure out control powered man flight
when there were certainly other teams
who were better qualified but her funded
and they didn’t achieve powered man
flight and the Wright brothers beat them
to it there’s something else at play
here about three and a half years ago I
made a discovery and this discovery
profoundly changed my view on how I
thought the world worked and it even
profoundly changed the way in which I
operate in it as it turns out there’s a
pattern as it turns out all the great
and inspiring leaders and organizations
in the world whether it’s Apple or
Martin Luther King or the Wright
brothers they all think act and
communicate the exact same way and it’s
the complete opposite to everyone else
all I did was codify it and it’s
probably the world’s simplest idea I
call it the Golden Circle
[Music]
why how what this little idea explains
why some organizations and some leaders
are able to inspire where others aren’t
let me define the terms really quickly
every single person every single
organization on the planet knows what
they do 100 percent some know how they
do it whether you call it your
differentiating value proposition or
your proprietary process or your USP but
very very few people or organizations
know why they do what they do and by why
I don’t need to make a profit that’s a
result it’s always a result by why I
mean what’s your purpose what’s your
cause what’s your belief why does your
organization exist why do you get out of
bed in the morning and why should anyone
care well as a result the way we think
the way we act the way we communicate is
from the outside in it’s obvious we go
from the clearest thing to the fuzziest
thing but the inspired leaders in the
inspire or inspired organizations
regardless of their size regardless of
their industry all think act and
communicate from the inside out
let me give you an example I use Apple
because they’re easy to understand and
everybody gets it if Apple were like
everyone else a marketing message from
them might sound like this
we make great computers they’re
beautifully designed simple to use and
user friendly wanna buy one and that’s
how most of us communicate that’s how
most marketing is done the time of sales
done and that’s how most of us
communicate interpersonally we say what
we do we say how we’re different or how
we better and we expect some sort of
behavior or purchase a vote something
like that here’s our new law firm we
have the best lawyers with the biggest
clients we have you know we always
perform for our clients do business with
us here’s our new car it gets great gas
mileage it has you know leather seats by
our car but it’s uninspiring here’s how
Apple actually communicates
everything we do 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 right if you’re ready
to buy a computer for me all I did was
reverse the order of the information
would have proves to us is that people
don’t buy what you do people buy why you
do it people don’t buy what you do they
buy why you do it
this explains why every single person in
this room is perfectly comfortable
buying a computer from Apple but we’re
also perfectly comfortable buying an mp3
player from Apple or a phone from Apple
or a DVR from Apple but as I said before
Apple’s just a computer company there’s
nothing that distinguishes them
structurally for many of their
competitors their competitors are all
equally qualified to make all of these
products in fact they tried a few years
ago gateway came out with flat-screen
TVs there
we qualified to make flat-screen tvs
they’ve been making some flat-screen
monitors for years nobody bought one
Dell came out with mp3 players and PDAs
and they make great quality products and
they can make perfectly well design
products and nobody bought one in fact
talking about it now we can’t even
imagine buying an mp3 player from Dell
why would you buy an mp3 player from a
computer company but we do it every day
people don’t buy what you do they buy
why you do it the goal is not to do
business with anybody with everybody who
needs what you have the goal is to do
business with people who believe what
you believe
here’s the best part none of what I’m
telling you is my opinion it’s all
grounded in the tenets of biology not
psychology biology if you look at a
cross-section of the human brain looking
from the top down what you see is the
human brain is actually broken into
three major components that correlate
perfectly with the golden circle our
newest brain our Homo Sapien brain our
neocortex corresponds with the what
level the neocortex is responsible for
all of our rational and analytical
thought and language the middle two
sections make up our limbic brains and
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 when we communicate from the
outside in yes people can understand
vast amounts of complicated information
like features and benefits and facts and
figures
it just doesn’t drive behavior when we
communicate from the inside out we’re
talking directly to the part of the
brain that controls behavior and then we
allow people to rationalize it with the
tangible things we say and do this is
where gut decisions come from you know
sometimes you can give somebody all the
facts and your figures and they say I
know what all the facts in detail say
but it just doesn’t feel right why would
we use that verb it doesn’t feel right
because the part of the brain that
controls decision-making doesn’t control
language and the best we can muster up
is I don’t know it just doesn’t feel
right or sometimes you say you’re
leading with your heart or you’re
leading with your soul well I hate to
break it to you though zoned the other
body parts controlling your behavior
it’s all happening here in your limbic
brain
the part of the brain that controls
decision-making and not language but if
you don’t know why you do what you do
and people respond to why you do what
you do then how will anybody how will
you ever get people to vote for you or
buy something from you or more
importantly be loyal and want to be a
part of what it is what you bet you do
again the goal is not just as to sell
people who need what you have the goal
is to sell to people who believe what
you believe the goal is not just to hire
people who need a job it’s to hire
people who believe what you believe I
always say that you know this if you if
you if you hire people just because they
can do a job they’ll work for your money
but if you hire people who believe what
you believe they work for you with blood
and sweat and tears and no air nowhere
else is there a better example of this
than with the Wright brothers most
people don’t know about Samuel Pierpont
Langley and back in the early 20th
century the pursuit of powered man
flight was like the dot-com of the day
everybody was trying it and Samuel
Pierpont Langley had what we assume to
be the recipe for success I mean even
now we you ask people why did your
product or why did your company fail and
people always give you the premium same
permutation of the same three things
undercapitalized the wrong people bad
market conditions it was the same three
things so let’s explore that Samuel
Pierpont Langley was given $50,000 by
the War Department to figure out this
flying machine money was no problem he
held a seat at Harvard and worked at the
Smithsonian and was extremely
well-connected he knew all the big minds
of the day he hired the best minds
money could find and the market
conditions were fantastic
the New York Times followed him around
everywhere and everyone was rooting for
Langley and how come we’ve never heard
of Samuel Pierpont Langley a few hundred
miles away in Dayton Ohio Orville and
Wilbur Wright they had none of what we
consider to be the recipe for success
they had no money they paid for their
dream with the proceeds from their
bicycle shop not a single person on the
Wright brothers team had a college
education
not even Orville or Wilbur and the New
York Times followed them around nowhere
the difference was Orville and Wilbur
who were driven by a caused by a purpose
by a belief they believed that if they
could figure out this flying machine
it’ll change the course of the world
Samuel Pierpont Langley was different he
wanted to be rich and he wanted to be
famous
he was in pursuit of the result he was
in pursuit of the riches and lo and
behold look what happened the people who
believed
in the Wright brothers dream worked with
them from with blood and sweat and tears
the others just worked for the paycheck
and they tell stories of how every time
the Wright brothers went out they would
have to take five sets of parts because
that’s how many times they would crash
before they came in for supper and
eventually on December 17th 1903 the
Wright brothers took flight and no one
was there to even experience it we found
out about it a few days later and
further proof that Langley was motivated
by the wrong thing the day the Wright
brothers took flight he quit he could
have said that’s an amazing discovery
guys and I will improve upon your
technology but he didn’t he wasn’t first
he didn’t get rich he didn’t get famous
so he quit people don’t buy what you do
they buy why you do it and if you talk
about what you believe you will attract
those who believe what you believe well
why is it important to attract those who
believe what you believe something
called the law of diffusion of
innovation and if you don’t know the law
you definitely know the terminology 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 34% are your early majority your
late majority and your laggards the only
reason these people by touch-tone phones
is because you can’t buy rotary phones
anymore
we all sit at various places at various
times on the scale but with the law of
diffusion of innovation tells us is that
if you want mass-market success or
mass-market acceptance of an idea you
cannot have it until you achieve this
tipping point between 15 and 18 percent
market penetration and then the system
tips and I love asking businesses what’s
your conversion on new business and they
love to tell you oh it’s about 10%
proudly well you can trip over 10% of
the customers we all have about 10% who
just get it that’s how we describe them
right that’s like that gut feeling oh
they just get it the problem is how do
you find the ones that just get it
before you’re doing business with them
versus the ones who don’t get it
so it’s this here this little gap that
you have to close as Jeffrey Moore calls
it crossing the chasm because you see
the early majority will not try
something until someone else has tried
it first and these guys the innovators
in the early adopters they’re
comfortable making those gut decisions
they’re more comfortable making those
intuitive decisions that are driven by
what they believe about the world and
not just what product is available these
are the people who stood on line for six
hours to buy an iPhone when they first
came out when you could have just walked
into the store the next week and bought
one off the shelf these are the people
who spent $40,000 on flat-screen TVs
when they first came out even though the
technology was substandard and by the
way they didn’t do it because the
technology was so great they did it for
themselves it’s because they wanted to
be first people don’t buy what you do
they buy why you do it and what you do
simply proves what you believe in fact
people will do the things that prove
what they believe the reason that person
bought the iPhone on the first in the
first six hours of stood and signal in
line for 6 hours was because of what
they believed about the world and how
they wanted everybody to see them they
were first
people don’t buy what you do they buy
why you do it so let me give you a
famous example a famous failure and a
famous success of the law of diffusion
of innovation first the famous failure
it’s a commercial example as we said
before a second ago the recipe for
success is money and the right people in
the right market conditions right you
should have success then look at TiVo
from the time TiVo came out about eight
or nine years ago to this current day
they are the single highest quality
product on the market hands down there
is no dispute they were extremely
well-funded market conditions were
fantastic I mean we use TiVo as a verb
like TiVo stuff on my piece of junk Time
Warner DVR all the time
Patito is a commercial failure they’ve
never made money and when they went IPO
their stock was at about 30 or 40
dollars then plummeted and it’s never
traded above 10 in fact I don’t think
it’s even traded about 6 except for a
couple of little spikes because you see
when TiVo launched their product they
told us all what they had they said we
have a product that pauses live TV skips
commercials rewinds live TV and
memorizes your viewing habits without
you even asking and the cynical majority
said we don’t believe you we don’t need
it we don’t like it you’re scaring us
what if they had 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 skips commercials
memorizes your viewing habits etc etc
people don’t buy what you do they buy
why you do it and what you do simply
serves as the proof of what you believe
now let me give you a successful example
of the law of diffusion of innovation in
the summer of 1963 250,000 people showed
up on the mall in Washington to hear dr.
King speak they sent out no invitations
and there was no website to check the
date how do you do that well dr. King
wasn’t the only man in America who was
the who’s a great orator he wasn’t the
only man in America who suffered in a
pre-civil Rights America in fact some of
his ideas were bad but he had a gift he
didn’t go around telling people what
needed to change in America you know he
went around and told people what he
believed I believe I believe I believe
he told people and people who believed
what he believed took his cause and they
made it their own and they told people
and some of those people created
structures to get the word out to even
more people and lo and behold 250,000
people showed up on the right day on the
right time to hear him speak how many of
them showed up for him zero they showed
up for themselves it’s what they
believed about America that got them to
travel on a bus for eight hours to stand
in the Sun in Washington for in the
middle of August it’s what they believed
and it wasn’t about black versus white
25% of the audience was white dr. King
believed that there are two types of
laws in this world those that are made
by a higher authority Authority and
those that are made by man and not until
all the laws that are made by man are
consistent with the laws that are made
by the higher authority while we live in
a just world it just so happens that the
civil rights movement was the perfect
thing to help him bring his cause to
life we followed him not for him but for
ourselves and by the way he gave the I
have a dream speech not the I have a
and speech listen to politicians now
with the comprehensive 12-point plans
are not inspiring anybody because there
were leaders and there are those who
lead leaders hold a position of power or
authority but those who lead inspire us
with other individuals or organizations
we follow those who lead because we have
to but because we want to we follow
those who lead not for them but for
ourselves and it’s those who start with
Y that have the ability to inspire those
around them or find others who inspire
them thank you very much
[Music]
decision making is a process right the
question is what filters are you using
to make decisions are you making
decisions based on the financial rewards
are you making decisions based on how
easy the work will be I mean I remember
in college you know they would give you
this book where they all the students
would rate the classes and they would
rate things like how easy the class was
and how you know how much do they like
the professor and you know the first
year I picked all my classes based on it
workload and I picked everything a low
workload you know and pretty bored
didn’t work very hard which was fine but
nothing was dynamic and nothing really
excited me and I thank goodness learned
that and so the second year I picked all
my classes by professor rating
regardless of the workload so every
class I had I had these dynamic amazing
incredible human beings passing on their
knowledge
and you were excited to work hard for
them you know and so again what the
question is what are the filters we’re
using and so if you’re only chasing the
mighty dollar then you will have jobs
that’ll pay you a little more than the
last but are you enjoying yourself and I
talked to a guy recently who isn’t it
he’s in bad shape
like he really hates his life and he’s
really depressed he doesn’t know what to
do and so we were going through all his
old jobs you know and I said give me a
job that you’ve loved and he had every
single job he’s chosen out of college he
picked because of the the money and if
something offered him more somewhere
else he took it you know regardless and
and and the amazing thing is he
plateaued because if you’re only chasing
the result if you’re only chasing the
thing that makes it easy right then
eventually you will get bored or they’ll
get bored of you right and you plateau
in other words chasing the whole mighty
dollar if that’s your only thing it
eventually flattens out whereas if
you’re chasing the thing that excites
you the human beings to be around the
work that excites you the stuff that you
know you know you you can get passionate
about you know
the the irony is is you’ll actually make
way way more right because you’re
excited and they appreciate your
excitement and they reward your
excitement and you’re better at your
work because you want to work harder and
all of that stuff you don’t have to
strain to work harder so decision-making
is simply a matter of filters you know
and so I’ve made decisions in my life
that I would rather be happy than right
I’d rather do good then then get rich
and and so the decisions I make put me
in positions where when I leave any
engagement when I leave any meeting I
feel that I’ve contributed right rare
are the times anymore where you walk
arguing just think of the money just
think of the money think of the money
you know I I because that doesn’t feel
nice and and the experience I have I
don’t enjoy traveling to them and I
don’t enjoy traveling home we have an
amazing experience I am looking forward
to getting there and I’m excited when I
leave you know so it’s just decision
made decision-making is just a matter of
what filters you use and if you’re if
you’re good about keeping those filters
up and clear then then make your
decision I don’t judge anybody by how if
they choose to use different filters
these are just the filters I choose to
live my life you know not right or wrong
just
those are my decisions you know that’s
my filter
[Music]
how can you help the human race how can
you help the human race human species
progress
I’m not joking either this is something
I think we all have to be aware of at
the end of the day the human animals are
social animal and our very survival
depends on our ability to form
communities to form cultures
what’s a community what’s a culture it’s
a group of people with a common set of
values and beliefs right what’s a
country it’s a group of people with a
common set of values and beliefs
what’s a company it should be a group of
people with a common set of values and
beliefs when we’re surrounded by people
who believe what we believe something
remarkable happens Trust emerges and
make no mistake of it Trust is a feeling
a distinctly human feeling you know we
all have friends we’re total screw-ups
and yet we still trust them Trust is not
a checklist simply doing everything you
say you’re going to do doesn’t that much
does not mean people will inherently
trust you it just means you’re reliable
we need trust right we need trust when
we’re surrounded by people who believe
what we believe and trust starts to
emerge and we trust them and they trust
us we’re more willing to take risks
we’re more willing to experiment which
requires failure we’re more willing to
explore and go somewhere with that no
one has ever gone before
with the confidence that if we fail if
we trip over if we turn our backs that
those within our community those who we
trust and who trust us will look after
us while we’re gone we’ll pick us up
when we fall over
we’ll help us when we’re hurt our very
survival depends on it we’re not good at
everything we’re not good by ourselves
you know if I send you out to go fight a
saber-toothed tiger by yourself odds are
Tiger one you zero it’s not gonna go
very well but if you go out as a group
we’re pretty damn amazing and the reason
is is because we all have our strengths
and we all of our certain weaknesses and
the goal is not to fix your weaknesses
the goal is to amplify your strengths
and surround yourself with the people
who can do what you
paddu but it’s not just based on skills
and an application and experience it’s
based on what you believe it’s based on
what you believe you see simply being
good at something and having somebody
else being good what you’re no good at
does not mean you will trust each other
trust the sense of trust comes from the
sense of common values and common
beliefs and prove it
how many of you from New York okay
bunchy you are you friends with
everybody in New York why not why not
but when you go to Los Angeles and you
meet someone from New York you’re like
hey I’m from New York and you’re best
friends right and when you go to France
you there you are on the Paris Metro
minding your own business and you’re
here in American acts behind you you
turn around and say hey where’re you
from
they say Los Angeles you like hey I’m
from New York and you’re best friends
because when you’re surrounded by people
who don’t believe what you believe when
you’re in a strange environment where
you don’t feel comfortable you look for
anyone who may share some of the same
values and beliefs that you have and you
start to form a very wheat real and very
intense bond with them simply because
you know that they have a basic
understanding of how you grew up of the
things that you care about of the life
that you live back home well the same is
true when we go to work do we want to go
to work with people who understand us
who believe what we believe who have a
similar view of the world that has
nothing to do with their opinions and
the differences that we share that’s
good that’s called diversity that’s
called advantages to problem-solving
which is we can all look at the same
thing from a different angle and come up
with solutions what I’m talking about is
why should you help each other in the
first place what are you in pursuit of
now the question is is what creates that
sense of values and believes what
creates that sense of trust right our
very human instinct we know how to find
people who believe what we believe our
survival depends on it we’re
biologically gifted with this idea 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 gonna strike up conversations
you’re gonna start talking to people and
either you’ll have a good feeling about
them or you won’t either you’ll have
chemistry whatever that means or you
don’t sometimes it’s quick sometimes
it’s slow but we know how to do it it’s
called making friends
it’s called dating it’s called
networking we have the innate ability to
do it
there was a former Undersecretary of
Defense who was invited to give a speech
at a large conference about a thousand
people and he was standing on the stage
with his cup of coffee and a Styrofoam
cup giving his prepared remarks with his
PowerPoint behind him and he took a sip
of his coffee and he smiled and he
looked down at the coffee and then he
went off-script and he said you know
last year I spoke at this exact same
conference last year I was still the
undersecretary and when I spoke here
last year they flew me here business
class and when I arrived at the airport
there was somebody waiting for me to
take me to my hotel and they took me to
my hotel and they had already checked me
in and they just took me up to my room
and the next morning I came downstairs
and there was someone waiting in the
lobby to greet me and they drove me to
this here same venue they took me
through the back entrance and took me
into the green room and handed me a copy
a cup of coffee in a beautiful ceramic
cup he says I’m no longer the
undersecretary I flew here coach I took
a taxi to my hotel and I checked myself
in when I came down the lobby this
morning I took another taxi to this
venue I came in the front door and found
my way backstage and when I asked
someone do you have any coffee he
pointed to the coffee machine in the
corner and I poured myself a cup of
coffee into this here Styrofoam cup
he says the lesson is the ceramic cup
was never meant for me it was meant for
the position I held I deserved a
styrofoam
remember this as you gain fame as you
gain fortune as you gain position and
seniority people will treat you better
they will hold doors open for you they
will get you a cup of tea and coffee
without you even asking they will call
you sir and ma’am and they will give you
stuff none of that stuff is meant for
you that stuff is meant for the position
you hold it is meant for the level that
you have achieved of leader or success
or whatever you want to call it but you
will always deserve a Styrofoam cup
remember that remember that lesson of
humility and gratitude you can accept
all the free stuff you can accept all
the perks absolutely you can enjoy them
but just be grateful for them and know
that they’re not for you I remember
getting off the Acela I took the Acela
from New York to Washington DC and I got
off the train like everybody else and I
was walking down the platform like
everyone else and I walked past general
Nordy Schwartz who used to be the chief
of staff of the United States Air Force
the head of the Air Force and here I did
you see a guy in a suit slepping his own
suitcase down the platform just like me
and just a couple months ago he was
flying on private jets and a an
entourage and other people carried his
light luggage
he no longer held the position and so
now he got to drag his own suitcase and
never did it sort of remind me more that
none of us deserve the perks that we get
we all deserve a Styrofoam cup
you
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