So, I read Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. I’ve been on a kick around Servant Leadership and Simon starts off talking about Marine Corps. Kick your butt / scream, my way or highway right?

Not really. It’s about building a Tribe. The tribe is full of people who enjoy their individual victories (Endorphins and Dopamine) but are in a CIRCLE OF SAFETY where they can gain Serotonin (Love of accomplishment / leadership and contribution) and Oxytocin (Family, trust, camaraderie). Great organizations create the CIRCLE OF SAFTEY. Inside the Circle: Your biggest fear is letting the team down. Your biggest hope is making the team better, contributing.

Outside the circle? Danger. Danger creates Cortisol. Cortisol makes you anxious, fearful. Are you happy to go to work or are you anxious, tense and fearful?

Why would there be danger inside what should be a circle of saftey? What if your top leadership is investor and bottom line focused such that headwinds are pushed onto the team? Are there seemingly random pay cuts, layoffs to make a cash target? Is bonus or pay sacrificed to make investors happy or make stock buybacks?

Sinek compares the vaunted GE (Jack Welch), up or out / rank em yank em people policies to those of Costco. GE grew faster (at first) but ended up tracking the S&P which means it had ‘average’ leadership. Costco started slower and outpaced the market without brutality to the circle of safety.

Other reinforcing references: Jim Collins / Good To Great, Built to Last, Tribes by Sebastian Junger, Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.

I’m working on a thesis that the great quality principles and thinkers build on team work, enabling the worker to excel robust systems. The only thing I DON’T understand about Lean and Leadership and Quality is: Why does everyone have 14 points?

So, that’s Leaders Eat Last, about 330 pages with notes. Read it someday.