Contributor

Simon Sinek

Optimist

Simon Sinek teaches leaders and companies how to inspire people.

Simon is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. He writes, consults and speaks all over the world about the power of Why - the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. If everyone knew Why they do what they do and if everyone only
did the things that inspired them - what an amazing place the world would be.

A trained ethnographer, Simon has a life long curiosity for why people and organizations do the things they do. Studying the leaders and companies that make the greatest impact in the world and achieve a more lasting success than others, he discovered the formula that explains
how they do it. The amazingly simple idea, The Golden Circle, is grounded in the biology of human decision-making and is changing how leaders and companies think and act. Simon’s unconventional and innovative views on business and leadership have attracted international attention and have earned him invitations to meet with an astounding array leaders and organizations, including: Microsoft, Members of Congress, GE Silicones, AOL, New York City Ballet, the Director of HIV/AIDS Policy for the US Department of Health and Human Services, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? (one of America’s fastest growing franchises). Simon also had the honor of presenting his philosophy to the Ambassadors of Bahrain and Iraq and at the Pentagon to the senior leadership of the US
Air Force.

Simon shares his optimism with all who will listen. He speaks at conventions and corporate gatherings around the globe including events organized by Forbes Magazine, American Express and PSFK, a leading trending spotting organization. He also writes and comments regularly for local and national press, including The New York Times, Wall
Street Journal, The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, FastCompany, CMO Magazine, NPR and BusinessWeek. He is a regular contributer to The HuffingtonPost, BrandWeek, IncBizNet and makes regular guest appearances on MSNBC’s Your Business, among others.

Simon serves on the board of advisors for First 30 Days and sweetriot. Active in the not-forprofit world, Simon works with the EFE Foundation, Count Me In and serves on the Board of Directors for the Harlem School of the Arts. When not staying in hotels, Simon lives in New York where he also teaches graduate level strategic communications at Columbia University.

He is currently writing The Power of Why: Because What You Do Doesn’t Matter, to be published by Penguin Books in 2009.