MSNBC Features Simon Sinek - Are you a leading company or a company that leads?

There is a difference between being the leading company and a company that leads or so says our next guest Simon Sinek is the author of the new book "Start with why" how great leaders inspire everyone to take action. He's here to tell us why entrepreneurs may be equipped to lead better than any other group.

Hey Simon, it's great to see it's been a long time so explain to me the difference a leading company a company that leads?

So leading companies sell more than everybody else you know GM is a leading company they sell more cars than everybody else but they're not a company that leads a company that leads is somebody that sets the pace that's the sets the direction for the entire industry.

There's a huge difference don't you want to be the leading company and the company that leads they don't often go together amazingly because the leading companies are so driven about their market share and being number one that they forget that profits are actually more important.

Okay and you know in business everybody's really a follower and Apple you hear me talk about them all the time virgin Harley Davidson these companies aren't the leading companies Southwest Airlines doesn't have more routes than everybody else maybe they set the tone and they set the direction that everybody else follows and so when you say to be one of these leading companies one of the things you need to have is a clarity of.

Why? what do you mean by that? Absolutely every single company that leads knows why they do what they do and by why I don't mean to make a profit that's always a result I mean what's your purpose what's your cause what's your belief was why was your company founded and very often and you look at entrepreneurs the most successful entrepreneurs it was some sort of personal experience that had them start their company in the first place their parents couldn't get good home care and so they started a home care business you know.

I couldn't get a good burger so I started my own burger company you see this all the time so it's important for the founder to understand that or for the company to understand that well if the founder doesn't understand it then no one in the company will understand it Thanks so absolutely it starts with the founder and there's a huge importance in the ability to communicate what you believe you know this is it's it's very closely linked you know those people who have the ability to communicate what they believe clearly are the ones who lead and it's an inextricable connection between leadership and communication it's about passion but then other people share in your passion then you say they get there why then they have to have the discipline of how.

So, that's how you get your product out there or your service out there it's even it's I think it's deeper than that okay you know every company has guiding principles and values the question is how do you hold yourself accountable to them you know very often you hear companies talk about we believe in customers first but then when you go look at the way they actually do business you very often see that they don't put customers first a lot of promotions for example are designed to trick the customer you know we you fill out all of this crazy paperwork and we'll send you a rebate and they know that most people aren't going to fill it all out that's a trick how customer-focused are you if you're tricking your customer to do business with you you have to really hold yourself accountable to things.

The third thing you talk about is the what which is interesting because because I often in our conversations have said well when you say what is your company do I would say what my company does you say you I should say why they do it but then here what is important as well absolutely we live in a tangible world why you do what you do is just to believe that's all it is it's intangible and if the most important thing is what you believe then the things you say and the things you do.

You have to believe in in other words your products your packaging your marketing your people they all have to embody what you believe otherwise no one will know what you believe in essence you draw people in and then you deliver well this is the concept behind authenticity everybody says you have to be authentic but what does that mean things you're saying the things you do you actually believe well congratulations on the new book and thank you so much for coming by to tell us about it thank you very much