A short spoken anecdote by Simon Sinek recounting a former Undersecretary of Defense who contrasts the privileges afforded by his former office (ceramic cup, business class, escorts) with his later experience as a private individual (styrofoam cup, coach, taxis) to illustrate that privileges belong to positions, not people, and that good leaders remember everyone 'deserves a styrofoam cup'.
Chapters
True story. There was a former under Secretary of defense who was invited to speak at a large conference, like a thousand people. And in the middle of his remarks, he was holding a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup. And he. And he looks down, and he smiles and he interrupts himself, and he says, you know, last year, I was still the undersecretary, and I spoke at this exact same cup. And last year, they flew me here, business class. There was someone waiting for me at the airport to drive me to the hotel. Someone had already checked me into the hotel. And I just went back. You know, they took me up to my room. I came down in the morning, There was somebody waiting for me in the lobby, and they brought me to the same venue. They took me through to the back entrance, and they took me into a green room, and they handed me a cup of coffee in a beautiful ceramic cup. He says, I'm no longer the undersecretary. I flew here coach. I took a taxi from the hotel to the. From the airport to the hotel. I took another taxi this morning to the venue. I came in the front door, found my way backstage, and when I. When I asked somebody, do you have any coffee? They pointed to the coffee machine in the corner, and I poured myself a cup of coffee into this here Styrofoam cup. He says, the lesson is, the ceramic cup was never meant for me. It was meant for the position I held. I deserve a styrofoam cup. And the great leaders all recognize that. You can enjoy the ceramic cup. You can enjoy the first class. You can enjoy the nicer office. Absolutely enjoy it. But they're not giving it to you. They're giving it to the position you hold, either in the company or in the social hierarchy. We all deserve a styrofoam cup. And for the leaders that remember that, you'll do just fine.
