Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek
Sinek in 2020
Sinek in 2020
BornSimon Oliver Sinek
(1973-10-09) October 9, 1973 (age 51)[1]
Wimbledon, London, England
Occupationmotivational speaker, author
CitizenshipUnited States
Education
Notable works
Website
simonsinek.com

Simon Oliver Sinek (born 1973)[2] is an English-born American author and inspirational speaker on business leadership. His books include Start with Why (2009) and The Infinite Game (2019).

Early life and education

Sinek was born in Wimbledon. His mother is Jewish and of Hungarian Jewish descent.[3] As a child, he lived in Johannesburg, London, and Hong Kong before his family settled in the United States. He graduated in 1991 from Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest in Bergen County, New Jersey[4] and earned a BA in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University, then studied law at City, University of London.[2][5]

Career

Three concentric circles, with the inner circle labeled Why, the middle circle labeled How, and the outer circle labeled What
The "golden circle" from Sinek's Start with Why, a perspective on the influence of successful leaders and organizations

Sinek began his career at the New York ad agencies Euro RSCG and Ogilvy & Mather, then launched his own business, Sinek Partners.[2]

As a motivational speaker, Sinek has spoken at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in 2016,[6] and at TEDx conferences several times, beginning in 2009.[7] His 2010 "How Great Leaders Inspire Action", arising out of his first book, Start with Why, is one of the most-viewed TED talks,[2][8][9] and his following book, Leaders Eat Last, appeared on the bestseller lists of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.[2]

In June 2018, The Young Turks reported a $98,000 no-bid contract from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for leadership training by Sinek,[10] which was provided by Ernst & Young.[11] Sinek has also been an instructor of strategic communications at Columbia University,[12] and an adjunct staff member of the RAND Corporation.[13]

In November 2018, Publishers Weekly reported that Sinek would start Optimism Press, a new imprint of Penguin Random House.[14] He subsequently launched The Optimism Company, a digital learning platform.[9]

Publications

Sinek has published five books:

  • Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2009. ISBN 978-1591846444.[15][8]
  • Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2014. ISBN 978-1591845324.[8]
  • Together Is Better: A Little Book of Inspiration. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2016. ISBN 978-1591847854.
  • Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2017. ISBN 9781101992982.[16]
  • The Infinite Game. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2019. ISBN 9780735213500.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Uncovering The Truth Behind Simon Sinek's Wife". Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Maxwell, Chris (January 6, 2017). "Simon Sinek: To grow your business, let go". Director. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Chananie, Beth Janoff (March 15, 2013). "Helping prepare for the seder ... and beyond: new cookbooks for Passover". Jewish Standard. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  4. ^ NVD (February 11, 2013). "Superintendent's blog: Simon Sinek Returns to NVD". Northern Valley Regional High School. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014.
  5. ^ "Simon Sinek: How Do Great Leaders Inspire Us To Take Action?". NPR. May 18, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "Programme". UN Global Compact. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  7. ^ Koji, David (December 8, 2016). "An Inspiring Discussion With Simon Sinek About Learning Your 'Why'". Entrepreneur. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d Congdon, Chris (January 14, 2020). "Simon Sinek's New Game". Steelcase (interview). Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Ferris, Luke (January 26, 2023). "Simon Sinek: Who's the Man Behind the Personal Brand?". Foundr (interview). Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "ICE Paid Famous Motivational Speaker for 'Leadership Training'". tytnetwork.com. June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "Award Summary, PIID 70CMSD18P00000045". usaspending.gov. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Instructor Simon Sinek Featured by 99%". Columbia University School of Professional Studies. May 16, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "RAND Corporation Staff Directory". RAND Corporation. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  14. ^ Maher, John (November 15, 2018). "Portfolio to Launch New Imprint". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  15. ^ Kauflin, Jeff (June 20, 2017). "The Year's Five Bestselling Leadership Books, And Why They're So Great". Forbes (contributor blog).
  16. ^ Burnett, Jane (August 23, 2017). "Millennials are telling you why your company stinks but you're not listening: a Q&A with Simon Sinek". Ladders. Retrieved January 6, 2018.