Book SummaryFind Your Why, by Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter Docker

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Find Your Why

Finding your “Why” or purpose can help you make better choices in your work and life that lead to greater fulfillment, according to best-selling author Simon Sinek. That’s what he discovered when finding his purpose helped him overcome depression. He then began helping others find their purpose through his popular 2009 TED Talk and by working with individuals and organizations.

Sinek shared his ideas about the centrality of purpose in his best-selling book, Start With Why, in 2009, which focused on organizations. He outlined his theory that the most successful organizations have a clear purpose and stick to it as they grow. To provide practical help to more people, he later co-wrote Find Your Why with David Mead and Peter Docker: a follow-up book that lays out a step-by-step process for discovering your purpose.

(Shortform note: Sinek’s concept of a Why or purpose isn’t new. In 1946, psychologist Viktor Frankl argued that the driving force in our lives is meaning, not pleasure or power, as other schools of thought at the time suggested. Frankl also argued that the meaning of life isn’t universal, but rather something each person must find for themselves, just as Sinek believes everyone has a unique purpose they must discover.)

What Is Your Purpose?

According to Sinek, “finding your Why” means finding your purpose: the single core belief that inspires you to do the work you choose to do and be the kind of person you want to be in all spheres of your life. Sinek believes every individual and organization has a purpose, though not everyone has discovered theirs or put it into words. He argues that your purpose is fixed by your twenties. Some people argue that your purpose changes throughout your lifetime; however, Sinek contends that while life events can temporarily divert you from your purpose, or make you reassess it, they don’t change your purpose.

(Shortform note: Sinek’s belief that everyone has a single purpose that remains true throughout their lifetime doesn’t match findings from research on purpose. According to studies, people’s search for and engagement with their purpose evolves throughout different stages of life. During our teenage years, we take an exploratory approach to purpose that becomes more urgent as we become adults and feel the pressure to have certainty on what our purpose is. Finally, during our senior years, we again take an exploratory approach after the things that gave us purpose during adulthood, including raising a family and having a career, become past accomplishments.)

The Benefits of Discovering Your Purpose

Sinek discusses three benefits of knowing your purpose:

1. When you know your purpose, you can seek out work that fulfills you—that is, work that matters and makes you feel that you're part of something bigger. Sinek believes everyone, no matter their role or status, deserves to find fulfillment at work. (Shortform note: Sinek draws a distinction between fulfillment and happiness, unlike traditional career advice that often conflates the two or sees them as operating in tandem. Fulfillment is lasting while happiness fluctuates. Additionally, Sinek’s understanding of fulfillment as a human need is in line with long-standing theories from psychology. Psychologist Abraham Maslow theorized that humans have five basic needs, including self-actualization, or fulfillment of our potential.)

2. Finding your purpose helps you make more persuasive appeals to people. Your energy and commitment to your purpose are contagious, so having clarity on it helps you pitch your ideas in a way that’s more authentic and enticing to others. (Shortform note: Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles, agrees with Sinek's belief that having a clear purpose will inspire others to join you. Canfield adds that communicating your purpose in a compelling way is one of the main skills of great leaders.)

3. Knowing your purpose helps you make better decisions because you can measure each choice against your purpose and make the decision that best aligns with it. (Shortform note: In Essentialism, Greg McKeown suggests practical ways to filter out nonessential pursuits using your purpose: Learn to set boundaries and say “no” gracefully, learn to say “no more” to time or money investments that no longer serve you, and have an editor’s mindset to eliminate everything except what’s essential.)

Your Purpose Is at the Core of Everything You Do

We’ve discussed what your Why, or purpose, is and what its benefits are. Now, we’ll explore how to use your purpose to guide your life and work. We'll look at a three-part model Sinek first introduced in Start With Why, which...

Find Your Why Summary Shortform Introduction

In Find Your Why, Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter Docker lay out the steps individuals and organizations can take to discover their purpose and strengths and share them with the world. Discovering your unique purpose—your Why—and strengths helps you find fulfillment at work and in life. When you live in alignment with your purpose, you make better career decisions and inspire people to join you, whether as part of your team or supporters of your mission.

About the Authors

Simon Sinek is an ethnographer and best-selling author known for Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, and The Infinite Game. He became famous thanks in part to his 2009 TED Talk on the importance of knowing your “Why,” or purpose, which became the second most-watched TED Talk ever.

Connect with Simon Sinek:

• Website
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Find Your Why Summary Chapter 1: Why Having a Purpose Matters

Sinek argues that finding your Why or purpose can help you make better choices in your work and your life that lead to greater fulfillment. That’s what he found in his own life after struggling with depression until he identified his purpose: “To inspire people to do what inspires them so that, together, we can change our world for the better.” He then began to help others find their purpose, most famously through his popular 2009 TED Talk and by working directly with individuals and organizations.

Besides coaching and giving talks, Sinek shared his ideas about the centrality of purpose through his bestselling book, Start With Why, also published in 2009. In that book, he outlined his theory that the most successful organizations are the ones that have a clear purpose and stick to it as they grow.

At the center of Sinek’s theory is a model he uses to illustrate the connection between your Why (purpose), your How (methods and practices), and your What (actions and outcomes). We will explore his model in more detail in Chapter 2 of this...

Shortform Exercise: What Would Having a Clear Purpose Do for You?

Consider how clarifying your purpose could improve your life.

Do you feel fulfilled with the work you’re doing now? If you do, where does that sense of fulfillment come from? If not, how would your life be different if you were working at a fulfilling job?

Find Your Why Summary Chapter 2: Your Purpose Is at the Core of Everything You Do

We’ve discussed the importance of finding your purpose and its benefits. Next, we’ll explore how to use your purpose to guide your life and work. We’ll start with a three-part model Sinek first introduced in Start With Why, which illustrates how having a central purpose affects your actions (your "How" or methods) and your results ("What" you accomplish).

Sinek’s “Golden Circle”

Sinek created the “Golden Circle” model to help you find fulfillment by placing your day-to-day actions and your strengths in the context of your purpose, or Why. In other words, his model helps you see whether the action you’re taking aligns with your purpose and thus whether it will bring you fulfillment or distract you from your Why.

(Shortform note: In Designing Your Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans provide a similar tool: a Life Compass. It places your life and work philosophies side by side so you can identify where they overlap and [determine whether your actions are in accord with your philosophies, or beliefs about what you do and...

Shortform Exercise: Lead With Your Purpose

Sinek recommends leading with your purpose or Why to create stronger connections and be more persuasive.

Write down how you'd usually introduce yourself or your organization.

Find Your Why Summary Chapter 3: Your Purpose Statement

In the previous chapter, we discussed Sinek’s model. Now we'll look at how to write a purpose statement: a sentence that declares your Why, or purpose. Sinek first explains why you should state your purpose clearly in writing and how to do so. He then presents a step-by-step process to discover and articulate your purpose, which you can go through with a partner or in a team workshop.

This chapter will go over what a purpose statement is and discuss its characteristics before we address the process to come up with one.

The Purpose Statement

Your purpose statement is a single sentence that declares your ultimate goal and vision.

According to Sinek, it has two parts: The first part should spell out the core action your Why compels you to take. The second part should state what you’re ultimately striving to achieve: the impact you want to have.

An older version of Airbnb’s mission statement is a great example of a purpose statement: To connect millions of people in real life all over the world, through a community marketplace (core action)—so that you can Belong Anywhere (impact).

(Shortform note: In _[First Things...

Shortform Exercise: Learn the Elements of a Purpose Statement

This exercise will help you understand the characteristics of a purpose statement before you set out to write yours.

Purpose statements are impact-focused: Think of a time when you felt fulfilled. What were you doing? Does your experience confirm or refute Sinek’s ideas about fulfillment coming from serving others?

Find Your Why Summary Chapter 4: Preparing for a Purpose Discussion

In the previous chapter, we discussed the purpose statement. Now, we’ll dive into the process Sinek created with co-authors David Mead and Peter Docker to identify your purpose.

The authors’ step-by-step process can be followed with a partner to create an individual purpose statement, or applied in a group discussion to come up with a team or organization’s purpose. In this chapter, we’ll first explain the process. Then, we’ll go through the steps to implement it as an individual or organization.

The Purpose Discussion

To determine your Why and come up with a written statement, Sinek and his co-authors created a step-by-step process that individuals and groups can follow in a group discussion or workshop. Sinek’s process to find your purpose helps you or your team explore past experiences for insight into what moves you.

In this process, you’ll identify important stories in your personal or company experience, share them with a partner or group facilitator, and pull out themes. You’ll then distill these themes to write your Why or purpose statement. (Shortform note: While Sinek argues that you can find your purpose by looking inward, Viktor Frankl argues the opposite in...

Shortform Exercise: Prepare for a Personal Purpose Discussion

This exercise will help you prepare for the process of uncovering your purpose. Come up with stories to share with a partner by answering these questions.

Describe a memorable life lesson you’ve learned. How did you learn it?

Shortform Exercise: Prepare for a Team Purpose Discussion

Follow Sinek’s steps to prepare for a team purpose discussion.

Describe the team you’ll be working with. Is it the entire organization or a smaller team within a larger one? Based on your observations, are team members disconnected from their purpose, or are they just struggling to put it into words? How can you tell?

Find Your Why Summary Chapter 5: Conducting a Purpose Discussion

The previous chapter detailed how to prepare for a purpose discussion. We’ll now explore how to conduct it. The core of the discussion process is sharing stories or experiences and mining them for insights about your purpose. (Shortform note: Your stories will be most useful if you talk to the people involved in them before the purpose discussion takes place. Research shows that we don’t remember our past very well on our own. Rather, we rely on others to fill in the details we’ve missed or decided to forget.)

While the goal of a purpose discussion is the same for both individuals and teams, the process for each is different. Therefore, in this chapter, we’ll first explain the process for individuals and then explore how finding your purpose works for teams.

The Purpose Discussion for Individuals

Sinek outlines three stages of the purpose discussion for individuals: telling your stories, identifying your themes, and drafting your purpose statement.

...

Shortform Exercise: Discover Your Personal Purpose

If you don’t have the right partner available, these questions will help you through the process of finding your purpose on your own.

Write down one of the stories you previously selected in as much detail as possible. Notice your emotions and physical responses as you write. When you notice an emotion, dig deeper—what is it about the story that’s triggering the emotion?

Find Your Why Summary Chapter 6: After You’ve Found Your Why

In the previous chapter, we walked through the process of finding your Why, or purpose, and putting it in writing. In this chapter, we’ll discuss what to do next. Sinek notes that the purpose discussion is only the beginning—now, you’ll move on to living your purpose.

Sinek identifies two key actions to take after you discover your Why. First, identify your How: the practices and methods that characterize you and help you live your purpose. Then, share your purpose statement.

This chapter will discuss determining your How, or methods, and suggest ways to share these insights with others. The steps for individuals and teams are mostly similar, so we'll discuss the core steps and then highlight the differences.

1. Determine Your How

The first step to begin living your Why or purpose is to identify your How, or what practices will help you accomplish your purpose. Sinek says your How comes from the list of themes you set aside when you drafted your purpose statement. (Themes are the ideas and actions that came up repeatedly in the stories.)

The Importance of Determining Your How

Your How is the way you operate when you’re at your best. While...

Shortform Exercise: Determine Your Personal Practices, or How

This exercise will help you determine your individual How, or the methods that will help you accomplish your Why, or purpose.

Group the themes you set aside after writing your purpose statement until you have no more than five. Write those five themes in active and inspiring language that expresses your unique How, or methods. For example, “build safe communities.”

Shortform Exercise: Determine Your Team’s Practices, or How

This exercise will help teams determine your How, or the methods that will help you accomplish your Why, or purpose.

Group the themes you set aside after writing your purpose statement until you have no more than five. Write those five themes in active and inspiring language that expresses your team’s unique How, or methods. For example, “build safe communities.”