Why? How? What?

What makes Apple, the Wright Brothers, and Dr. Martin Luther King stand out? There are/were other technology companies equal in ideas, other inventors equal in brilliance, and other activists equally vocal, so what could possibly make these three any different than the others? Their “backwards” (yet correct) approach to their respective problems. Take Apple for example. Instead of telling people what they sell, how their product is different than the competition, and neglecting to include why they do it, Apple instead defines their belief, or why they do things the way they do, then describe how they do the things they believe, and then as a result, show their great product. For example, a marketing pitch by Apple could be, as Simon Sinek states, "Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?". However, like Sinek says, other companies advertise, "We make great computers. They're beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?". The first marketing pitch would have much more success in persuading consumers than what the majority of the market utilizes. Sinek suggests that the "golden circle", which progresses inwards from “What do we want to do?”, “How do we do it?”, and “Why do we do what we do?”, must be reversed for success and greatness. Apple, the Wright Brothers, and Dr. Martin Luther King have had tremendous success where others have failed, and starkly stood out among the rest because they followed the "golden circle" from inside to the outside. By clearly defining their belief, Apple, the Wright Brothers, and Dr. Martin Luther King can have people relate to and identify with their belief, causing people to support them, making them stand higher than all others. Belief and purpose should be applied to all businesses, and anyone who wants to be placed above the rest. Success results when people can relate their own beliefs and lives to a product, business, or other person. End of story. Relationships and connections lend themselves to success. I think this is an extremely important aspect to add into all TED Talks. By sharing not just an idea, but a belief that others can identify with, that TED Talk will be EXTREMELY memorable. In my TED Talk, I will make sure to do this, as this seems to be a consistent theme within the TED Talks I have watched, and the book I am reading (A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink). While they enforce the idea of using stories that people can relate to, and not necessarily belief, I believe that the two are connected and can help me to deliver a memorable, long-lasting TED Talk.

Simon Sinek has an interesting presentation style similar to Daniel Pink’s use of RSA Animate. Sinek had a giant paper pad up on stage that he used to draw diagrams to illustrate his point. While this gave the audience a visual, I did not think it stood out very much, unlike Pink’s RSA Animate. However, he improved over Pink’s talk because he did not stumble over what he was saying. Overall, the content of Sinek’s speech was the interesting and inspiring part, while the visuals did not really add to or detract from his talk.