Be the Idiot | Simon Sinek

8 Jun 2023 · 1 min

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A short talk/transcript excerpt of Simon Sinek recounting an anecdote where he admits to "being the idiot" who asks basic questions in meetings. By voicing confusion, he reveals that others also do not understand, enabling simpler explanations and preventing unused recommendations from being shelved. The piece emphasizes the value of asking questions and communicating simply.

Chapters

I'm an idiot. I don't understand very complicated things, so I ask a lot of questions just so that I understand it. A long time ago I had a client, they invited me to sit in on a meeting from the consultant that they had hired. All the C level executives sitting there nodding and I didn't understand a frickin word of it. And so I'd raised my hand and say, I know I'm the only person in this room without an mba, but this doesn't make sense. Can you just say it again please? I'm really sorry to slow the meeting down everybody. And one by one all the C level executives said, yeah, I don't understand it either. Now if the idiot hadn't spoken up and said I don't understand, they all would have nodded their heads for fear of looking stupid and they would never have used it and would have sat on a shelf. And it's because I'm okay being the idiot. But the reality is, once I can get to the point where I understand it, I can say it in simple terms that means other people understand it too. There's a lot of value being the idiot.