Simon Sinek on the ‘why’ of leadership

I watched a great TED talk today by Simon Sinek, and it got me thinking about personal brand and authenticity. I know that I sometimes get caught up in thinking about personal brand and how I should be presenting myself in different situations. I like the way Sinek draws us back to the key question ‘why’ – why do you do what you do? Put another away, it is a move away from strategy, towards intention.

It reminds me of one of my favourite Rumi poems – one that sets a pretty high bar in terms of intention – here are the first few lines:

Forget the world, and so
command the world.

Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder
help someone’s soul to heal.
Walk out of your house like a shepherd.

And here’s the Sinek talk: