The Simon Sinek Problem

There’s a problem with the 5th most-watched Ted Talk of all time. Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” theory is deeply flawed and oversimplified. Today, Prof. Alex Edmans joins me to explore why Sinek’s claims persist and the psychological biases that make his message so convincing, even when data tells a different story.

----

Download the Reading List: https://nudge.kit.com/readinglist

Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-...

Connect on LinkedIn:   / phill-agnew-22213187  

Listen to Nudge Podcast: https://pod.link/1457621005

Alex’s book May Contain Lies: https://maycontainlies.com/

----

Sources:

Edmans, A. (2024). May contain lies: How stories, statistics, and studies exploit our biases—and what we can do about it. University of California Press.

Staw, Barry M. (1975): ‘Attribution of the “causes” of performance: a general alternative interpretation of cross-sectional research on organizations’, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 13, 414–32.

Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio.