Magnify Sales Book Club – Look after your team with ‘Leaders Eat Last’

What’s Special about this month’s book?

This book is very pertinent for this time in history. Right now, much of the world is in lockdown due to Covid-19. Business and sales as we know it has been paused, turned on its head, changed forever. Many of us long to go back to normal. What if ‘normal’ is over? How will we shape our new normal?

We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we can still choose to be the kind of leader we’d like to have at this uncertain time.

Simon Sinek encourages readers to create a ‘Circle of Safety’ at their workplace – a culture where your team/your organization is safe together. Any energy we need to spend in fighting should be spent in fighting dangers together, creating unity and therefore a stronger organisation.

‘When people have to manage dangers from inside the organization, the organization itself becomes less able to face the dangers from outside.’ – page 16.

As Simon Sinek says – ‘Let us all be the leaders we wish we had.’ – page 288

Book Details for ‘Leaders Eat Last’

Book Title – ‘Leaders Eat Last’

Author – Simon Sinek

Publication Date – 2014

Publisher – Penguin Random House

Who is Simon Sinek?

‘Imagine a world in which the vast majority of us wake up inspired, feel safe at work and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.’ As an author and motivational speaker, Simon Sinek has a focus on helping people feel inspired and fulfilled at work.

Simon Sinek’s five books provide a platform to develop your leadership:

What is the book’s premise?

That leaders who put their people first – leaders who eat last – create better organisations.

‘When leaders inspire those they lead, people dream of a better future, invest time and effort in learning more, do more for their organizations and along the way become leaders themselves.’

– Foreword by George J. Flynn, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)

Simon goes right to the heart of what your people value – safety and inspiration over money:

‘It turns out, even when offered big titles and bigger salaries, people would rather work at a place in which they feel like they belong. People would rather feel safe among their colleagues, have the opportunity to grow and feel a part of something bigger than themselves than work in a place that simply makes them rich.’ – page 74

‘This is what happens when human beings … are put in an environment for which we were designed. We stay. We remain loyal. We help each other and we do our work with pride and passion.’ – page 74

Does the book deliver on its premise?

Yes. If you want to create a culture at your business where your staff willingly work with you to achieve your vision, Simon Sinek shows you how to become the sort of leader that your people actually want to follow.

This book will inspire you with stories of leadership from the military and from businesses, demonstrating the lengths that people will go to when they know that leader truly has their back.

‘Leaders are the ones willing to look out for those to the let of them and those to the right of them. They are often willing to sacrifice their own comfort for ours, even when they disagree with us. Trust is not simply a matter of shared opinions. Trust is a biological reaction to the belief that someone has our well-being at heart. Leaders are the ones who are willing to give up something of their own for us. Their time, their energy, their money, maybe even the food off their plate. When it matters, leaders eat last.’ – page 82/83

Following a great leader gives real focus to an organisation, as your people place their trust in you.

‘And when we feel the Circle of Safety around us, we offer our blood and sweat and tears and do everything we can to see our leader’s vision come to life. The only thing our leaders ever need to do is remember whom they serve and it will be our honour and pleasure to serve them back.’ – page 83

What is the author’s voice like?

Encouraging and inspirational, Simon Sinek also makes sure we’ve got loads of practical examples to see how the Circle of Safety creates better work cultures in all kinds of workplaces.

There’s a very helpful discussion on the four primary chemical incentives in our bodies – endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin (chapter six). Cortisol, the stress and anxiety hormone, creates such damage that Simon has devoted the whole of chapter seven to this.

In writing this book, Simon is being a leader himself. His honest tone goes into the background of why he believes that true leaders eat last – so that you can make an informed choice to be the kind of leader your people want to follow.

Any memorable quotes?

So many great quotes in this book, especially now that Covid-19 has resulted in New Zealand households self-isolating in our homes and apartments.

CHAOS ENSUES WHEN OUR CIRCLE OF SAFETY IS BROKEN

‘When we feel like we are outside a Circle of Safety, with no sense of belonging and no sense that others love and care for us, we feel out of control, abandoned and left for dead. And when we feel that isolated, we become desperate.’ – page 270

HOW TO LEAD MILENNIALS

‘The Millennials who are entering or are already in the workforce require employers who are empathetic, understand the challenges that this generation faces, create Circles of Safety and find ways to make the most of the many positive attributes and unique skills that Millennials bring to the table … We must stop blaming each other and start helping each other. It would seem that in the dire scenario, we are our own best hope.’ – page 271

WHY GOOD LEADERS DO WELL IN HARD TIMES

‘To human beings, the safety a strong tribe provides its members makes the tribe stronger and better equipped to deal with the dangers and uncertainty of the outside world. The reason good leaders do well in hard times is obvious. Their people willingly commit their blood, sweat and tears to see the tribe, the company, advance and grow stronger. They do so not because they have to … but because they want to. And as a result, the stronger tribe, the stronger company, is able to guarantee a greater sense of safety and protection to even more people for even longer. Fear, in contrast, can hurt the very innovation and progress so many leaders of companies claim they are trying to advance with every re-org.’ – pages 86-87

What are some insights I can get from reading this book?

We just simply need to serve each other, and genuinely care for each other. This is what will make our organisations stronger.

EVERYONE WANTS TO FEEL SAFE

‘Leaders want to feel safe too. No matter what place we occupy in the pecking order, every single one of us wants to feel like we are valued by the others in the group.’ – page 30

BEING A LEADER IS LIKE BEING A PARENT

‘This is what it means to be a leader. This is what it means to build a strong company. Being a leader is like being a parent, and the company is like a new family to join. One that will care for us like we are their own … in sickness and in health.’ – page 20

PUT YOUR PEOPLE FIRST

‘Sacrifice the numbers to save the people and not sacrifice the people to save the numbers.’ (page 20). This is a particularly tough challenge in the light of our current economic environment. Several jobs have already been lost. These are hard calls for leaders to make, Simon Sinek would no doubt say to make these tough decisions with a heart for your people as much as you are able.

‘The leaders of great organizations do not see people as a commodity to be managed to help grow the money. They see the money as the commodity to be managed to help grow their people. This is why performance really matters. The better the organization performs, the more fuel there is to build an even bigger, more robust organization that feeds the hearts and souls of those who work there. In return, their people give everything they’ve got to see the organization grow … and grow … and grow.’ – page 21

WE CAN ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER THROUGH HARDSHIP

‘We can put up with a great many hardships when we have a partner to help see us through. In fact, it not only makes the hardships feel easier to endure, but it actually helps us manage the stress and the anxiety.’ – page 276

ALL OF US CAN BE PART OF THE CHANGE WE’D LIKE TO SEE

‘We must all start today to do little things for the good of others … one day at a time. Let us all be the leaders we wish we had.’ – page 288

How relevant is this book right now?

Extremely relevant. Some of us are suffering as a result of Covid-19 and will find this book particularly moving. If there’s a book for our time in history, ‘Leaders Eat Last’ is right up there with the best of them.

There’s a discussion about the stock market crash in 2008 (page 85). Simon Sinek also unpacks the spread of puerperal fever, an epidemic that swept through Europe and America some 200 years ago (pages 227-229).

Time and again we see that the challenges we’re grappling with right now have been similarly faced by our forebears. ‘We need to look to ourselves for answers’ Simon says on page 229.

Did the book live up to expectations?

Most definitely. In fact, re-reading this book now that Covid-19 is impacting the world made it even more meaningful.

‘Leaders Eat Last’ will inspire you to be the change that you’d like to see, and to also see that it’s possible. This book is an encouragement to sales and business leaders, and to leaders in all areas that – Yes, we can emerge from this time with new, better organisations.

Who would you recommend this book to?

I’d recommend this book to all sales and business leaders

Who want to grow a healthy organisation
Who want to develop a high-achieving sales culture
Who want to attract and retain the best talent after Covid-19
Who want to become better leaders – in your family, at work, in your life.

Who should buy this book?

To paraphrase Robert Tighe’s excellent book review last month:

Bad leaders should buy it for themselves
Good leaders should buy it to take their leadership to the next level
Great leaders should buy it to remind themselves of where they want their business to be
All leaders who want to come through the Covid-19 with a stronger, more resilient and higher-performing team

Where can I buy this book?

For less than $20 you can start the journey to becoming a better leader.

Here’s the link on Mighty Ape