I’ve never really gotten into TED Talks. I’ve alway really liked the idea, but I’ve just never invested the time to watch the talks. I guess I’m more of a reader and a listener than I am a watcher.
But today I saw a post come up in my Feedly from Mashable, and the title caught my eye.
I clicked on the link and read thru this article, where Elisha Hartwig talked about how many TED Talks videos there actually are and how not everyone has time to search and find specific talks that might peak their interests.
Inspiration and Influence: A Double Dose From TED Talks
Did you know TED Talks has over 1,400 videos in their vault of goodness? And so, instead of saying, “Hey, you should check out TED Talks because they have some great content”, Elisha’s article provides a roundup of what she calls the “15 TED Talks That Will Change Your LIfe“.
I chose to watch one of the spotlighted 15 because this one in particular caught my eye. It was a talk by Simon Sinek, and the title was “How Great Leaders Inspire Action“.
It was only about 18 minutes long, and because it seemed very relevant and in line with what we talk about here on EntrepreneurOnFire all the time, (inspiration and taking action), I thought I’d take Elisha’s article one step further and feature one TED Talks that will inspire and educate any entrepreneur who is struggling with how to gain more influence and receive more loyalty from their audience.
So here are some key points I took away from Simon’s talk, and why I think you should take the 18 minutes to check it out:
Key Points
- The reason Apple is able to offer something different than any other computer company is because they have inspiring leaders who think, act and communicate to their audience using a pattern that is the exact opposite of everyone else (what Simon calls The Golden Circle)
- The Golden Circle: Talk to your audience about Why you do what you do; then How you do it; and last, What you do
- People buy why you do it, not what you do
- Be driven by a cause, by a belief – not by money or an end result
- Attract people who believe what you believe
- Don’t lead for power; be a leader and people will follow you because they are inspired by you
Why you should watch
Sometimes people have some really insightful things to say, and they make great sense. But oftentimes you get to the end of a post, or the end of a speech – and no matter how powerful it was – you’re still not sure how to translate the message into real life.
What I like about Simon’s talk is that he is constantly referring back to real-life examples of companies and individuals who have crushed it by using The Golden Circle pattern to communicate to their audience, including Apple and the Wright Brothers.
