Simon Sinek

Let's try again. Right? How many of them have gone and said, look, huge pressure on me from Wall Street. Huge pressure on me. I don't even think you understand the pressure on me. They're pushing me to do layoffs. They tell me I got to cut expenses by 10%. I don't want to. So I want you all to go. Hey, my senior leaders, I want you to go to all of your divisions.

Let's try again. Right? How many of them have gone and said, look, huge pressure on me from Wall Street. Huge pressure on me. I don't even think you understand the pressure on me. They're pushing me to do layoffs. They tell me I got to cut expenses by 10%. I don't want to. So I want you all to go. Hey, my senior leaders, I want you to go to all of your divisions.

I want you to go to your front lines. Go to your junior people, your mid-rank, your middle management, and tell them this. We have to cut 10% and I don't want to do it with people. Find me 10%. Go find me 10%. Because if we can't find 10%, the pressure's overwhelming. I might have to cut heads and I don't want to. How many CEOs have done that?

I want you to go to your front lines. Go to your junior people, your mid-rank, your middle management, and tell them this. We have to cut 10% and I don't want to do it with people. Find me 10%. Go find me 10%. Because if we can't find 10%, the pressure's overwhelming. I might have to cut heads and I don't want to. How many CEOs have done that?

How many CEOs have asked their frontline teams to help them? No, none. None? No, it doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. Look at the entire function of human resources. Your average CHRO gets bonused by how efficiently they did the layoffs. Incorrect. Incorrect. An HR person is supposed to be at the executive table as the voice of the employee.

How many CEOs have asked their frontline teams to help them? No, none. None? No, it doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. Look at the entire function of human resources. Your average CHRO gets bonused by how efficiently they did the layoffs. Incorrect. Incorrect. An HR person is supposed to be at the executive table as the voice of the employee.

And when the CEO or more likely the CFO goes, I think we need to cut off 10% of our workforce, blah, blah, blah. That CHRO is supposed to say, don't you touch my people. You find that money somewhere else. Interesting. That's not what's happening. They go, aye, aye, sir. Layoffs done efficiently. No, the whole thing's screwed up. No wonder people are upset.

And when the CEO or more likely the CFO goes, I think we need to cut off 10% of our workforce, blah, blah, blah. That CHRO is supposed to say, don't you touch my people. You find that money somewhere else. Interesting. That's not what's happening. They go, aye, aye, sir. Layoffs done efficiently. No, the whole thing's screwed up. No wonder people are upset.

No wonder young people are voting for populists on the left or the right, whether it's Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. I understand the rise of populism. It's because the system isn't working for the average working American on both sides of the aisle. That's why we see a rise of populism because we reject populism. We reject the system that we're currently living in.

No wonder young people are voting for populists on the left or the right, whether it's Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. I understand the rise of populism. It's because the system isn't working for the average working American on both sides of the aisle. That's why we see a rise of populism because we reject populism. We reject the system that we're currently living in.

There's no perfect system.

There's no perfect system.

What did Churchill say? Democracy, what did he say? Democracy is a terrible form of government, but it's better than all the others. Right. The worst form of government, but it's better than all the rest, whatever he said. I mean, someone's always gonna be sad, suffering, hurt, losing opportunities. Churchill said it best, right? The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings.

What did Churchill say? Democracy, what did he say? Democracy is a terrible form of government, but it's better than all the others. Right. The worst form of government, but it's better than all the rest, whatever he said. I mean, someone's always gonna be sad, suffering, hurt, losing opportunities. Churchill said it best, right? The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings.

The inherent virtue of communism is the equal sharing of miseries.

The inherent virtue of communism is the equal sharing of miseries.

Right, your unequal sharing of misery is an unequal sharing of blessings. And we have opted for an unequal sharing of blessings. That's just the system we've picked. That's what... There's some who'll do really well. There's some who will do not really well. You could argue that it's unfair. You might be right. But the most important thing is the middle.

Right, your unequal sharing of misery is an unequal sharing of blessings. And we have opted for an unequal sharing of blessings. That's just the system we've picked. That's what... There's some who'll do really well. There's some who will do not really well. You could argue that it's unfair. You might be right. But the most important thing is the middle.

The most important thing is the middle class. The bigger the middle class, the more stable a society is. When the middle class starts to dissipate and starts to go away, and you start having the haves and the have-nots, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots gets wider and wider and wider, in 100% of those times, what you get is revolution. Every single time.

The most important thing is the middle class. The bigger the middle class, the more stable a society is. When the middle class starts to dissipate and starts to go away, and you start having the haves and the have-nots, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots gets wider and wider and wider, in 100% of those times, what you get is revolution. Every single time.