Simon Sinek

The author of Start With Why has spent a career redefining servant leadership. He reflects on his biggest lessons learned

- Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

IN 2009, SIMON SINEK delivered a TED Talk that explored his notion that all great leaders share a trait-what he called "knowing the why." It has become the third-most-watched TED Talk of all time. Some 14 years later, the best-selling author's ideas continue to resonate with entrepreneurs, and he's now scaling his message of servant leadership through his new online learning platform, the Optimism Company. Begun as a pandemic pivot, it boasts 20 employees working to infuse a spirit of helping others into the self-help industry. Sinek, 49, says it's all part of his dream that more people might channel their human skills so we can better "learn to cooperate, and take care of one another." That's just one of the many ideas Sinek's collected along his way.

1 MAKE ROOM FOR BLANK SPACE