Hey Square Readers,
We hope you had a great time reading Start with Why by Simon Sinek with us. We had some really great discussion threads, and a wonderful live video chat discussion! Thank you all for participating and making this a welcoming and helpful place.
So we’re here now to bring it all together with a full book and discussion summary, with the parts that you all found to be the most important.
Let’s dive in!
A Quick Summary
Simon Sinek defines the Why as your purpose, cause, or belief. It explains why your business exists and why your customers should care. It should guide every decision you make, and if your actions are aligned with it, build trust with the kinds of customers that align with it. The What is what product and service you’re providing, and the How is your differentiating factors from other businesses.
Sinek says that starting and leading with your Why taps into the part of the brain responsible for feeling, which deeply attracts customers and followers. By focusing on something that people can relate to with their core, you can set yourself and your business up for a really deep kind of success. Sinek also dives into a lot of case studies of businesses and leaders using their Why.
Here are some great quotes from the book that really dive into the heart of what the book is about.
Great Conversations
In our first discussion thread, Readers jumped in to talk about why they think the Why is important to running a business, why they’re excited to jump into reading, and what they hoped to get out of reading this book.
In another great thread, we dove into our Readers sharing their Why’s. This really made things real for me, hearing you all apply the concepts of the book into defining a Why for your businesses.
Next, we shared some practical strategies of how you can be true to your Why. It was so wonderful to see some of the real world uses and applications of this philosophy back into your work.
Sinek does say that it can be difficult to create and focus on the Why. He says that some people are Why people and others more naturally focus more on the How. These How people may be more operationally and logistically minded, while the Why people can come up with and channel the values and mission.
Other Media
We also shared some of the other pieces of content made by Simon Sinek, including his other books, podcasts and interviews, and his TED talk.
Live Discussion
We held our first Live Discussion on Tuesday May 23rd, with 18 of our Readers hopping into a Google Meet to talk about our first book.
We were absolutely blown away by the discussion that this group had. Sellers were really open and vulnerable, sharing so much about their businesses, and the impacts the book club and book had on them.
One of the first points of discussion is whether or not customers really care about the reasons folks started their businesses, and the distinction of a Why being the mission and values of a business. They asked questions about increasing sales, with many others jumping in with practical ideas of how to be true to their brand and bring in new customers.
They shared their wins of putting what they learned into action, and a wide range of impacts that reading this book has had on their businesses. One seller reworked a sales proposal to focus on the client’s issues, rather than the seller’s product. Another bought a custom domain and updated their social media accounts. And someone even rearranged their website to emphasize their mission, immediately leading to an increase in sales.
Some folks shared that they really appreciated just having a space to talk to other sellers to share their experiences, since being a business owner can be pretty lonely.
We also just started our next book, The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib, with the next Live Discussion on Tuesday July 25th.
Paying it Forward
If you’re all done with the book and are looking for something to do with a copy you bought, I highly recommend paying it forward. Give it to another local business owner, or donate it to a local used bookstore, community center, library, Little Free Library, or anywhere else, so someone else can benefit from it.
Your Thoughts
I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on this book and overall the experience of our first Square Readers Book Club book!
What discussions were your favorite?
What are you looking forward to with the next book?
It’s never too late to jump into any of our discussion threads and join in on the conversation!
- Post a Book Selfie
- Opening Discussion Post
- Your Favorite Quotes
- What is your Why?
- What can you do to be true to your Why?
- Are you a How or a Why person?
- More from the Author
Thank you so much for all of your participation and discussion throughout the last two months! A big shoutout to some of our most active members: @Moreplease, @CarissaD, @JUYBoutique20, @YBF, @CareyJo, @Granny1, @Stacelyn24, @Doran, @Smellthis1919, @DinaLRosenberg, @LauraLyonPhoto, @ChocoRee, @scastrotattoo, @Serenity35, @SknMoesha, @bonny, @TheRealChipA, @CarissaD, @GourmetOnWheels, @ZedAndEssAdmin, @TheArtChild, @ryanwanner, @theartroom, @Sugarmaker1, and so many more!
We hope you read the next book with us, The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib!
Can’t wait to read more with you,
Pesso
