Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2013

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Part 6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 6 Summary: “Destructive Abundance”

In this part, Sinek offers five lessons in leadership framed by a concept he calls “Destructive Abundance”: “The more we have, the less we seem to value what we’ve got” (119). When an organization falls prey to greed, its culture becomes oppressive. In Lesson 1 (“So Goes the Culture, So Goes the Company”), Sinek uses Goldman Sachs as an example of a company whose identity suffered over time, eventually becoming so toxic that it lost all former allure.

In Lesson 2 (“So Goes the Leader, So Goes the Culture”), Sinek cautions against leaders focusing on their own power and wealth as it turns them into tyrants who fail to make valuable decisions for the whole.

In Lesson 3 (“Integrity Matters”), Sinek argues that “building trust requires nothing more than telling the truth” (192). When a leader is consistent in words and actions, their consistency begets integrity, and this integrity becomes a key operating force in the company. When a leader is hypocritical, their employees often follow suit.

In Lesson 4 (“Friends Matter”), Sinek illustrates the importance of friendship in the field of high-stakes leadership by telling the story of Republican congressman Bob Goodlatte and Democrat congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Despite their differences in politics, they forged a friendship which yielded productive results for their House Agriculture Committee.

In Lesson 5 (“Lead the People, Not the Numbers”), Sinek juxtaposes former General Electric CEO Jack Welch and former Costco CEO James Sinegal. Welch was quick to impose layoffs for the sake of profit while Sinegal’s empathy-based leadership consistently placed Costco among the best companies to work for. Welch led with profitability in mind, but his most significant legacy is that of ruthlessness. Sinegal left a legacy of loyalty by dignifying and prioritizing the employee experience.

Part 6 Analysis

In this section, Sinek emphasizes empathy and the interplay between profit and well-being once more. The story of the two congress members’ friendship speaks to the power of human connection in defying expectations and overcoming odds. This is especially significant as “the environment in which our legislators now work makes it difficult for them to trust each other or work together for the benefit of anyone but themselves” (204). The former Costco CEO’s empathy-based leadership also speaks to how such an approach can lead to stability, and even long-term sustainability, within a company.

When comparing CEOs Jack Welch and James Sinegal, Sinek describes the former as largely one-dimensional: “If we judge Welch by the kind of leadership that succeeds by focusing on profit before people, then he retains his title as Wall Street’s hero” (211). Sinek provides multiple examples of Sinegal’s “people first” leadership and how it contributed to Costco’s success: “Costco has succeeded because it recognizes employees are like family, not in spite of this fact” (221). With high morale and low turnover rates, Costco is globally recognized for its positive work culture.