Over the last few days, I’ve been doing some reading on leadership and management. I wanted to find something different to write about than the same old-same old leadership in sports post. Today, I found a great TED talk by Simon Sinek entitled “How great leaders inspire action.” Don’t worry, if you don’t have time to watch it now, I’ll break it down for you in this article, but I think if you have 15 minutes, it’ll be something you’ll be glad you watched. I’ll even use some examples that Mr. Sinek used in his talk as I think his examples are great. First, we’ll go over a corporate example, then we’ll see how the principles relate to volleyball.

So, What makes some companies, people and products so great above others? Let’s take Apple’s iPod over a Dell or Gateway MP3 player. Apple, Dell and Gateway all have:

• access to great technicians, PR and marketing teams.
• access to great materials.
• a need to make a profit and reduce cost.
• similar structure in management teams. etc.

What makes Apple different? Their culture, the innovative designs, the cool architecture of their stores? All of the above. Mr. Sinek has created a possible reason for this called “The Golden Circle”.

In business as usual, marketing teams approach things from outside in. Where innovators and great leaders approach things from inside to out. For example:

Apple Marketing (Why, How, What): Are you the type of person that wants a device that can change the way you live, the way you work, and the way you play? Our device is so easy to use; easy to transfer data, easy to access all kinds of music on the fly while at the office, at the gym, or at play. To top it off, it’s beautiful! It’s the iPod!

Dell Marketing (What, How, Why): We have an MP3 player that can play all types of music files, it allows you to listen to all kinds of music wherever you are. Why would you pay more and get an iPod?

The sales and unbelievable success of the iPod product line is proof that people will pay more money to be a part of an exciting culture and something they believe in. Apple has done a great job creating, not just a company, but a culture of beauty and style. Answering “Why?” first, before anything else, by creating passion for what they, as a company, believe in and selling that. I guarantee that there are millions of people simply waiting to see what Apple will release after the iPad, and they have no clue what it is or how they will use it, but they just know it’ll be something great and they want it as soon as possible!

The iPod family of products and their growth over time is also a great example of the Law of Diffusion of Innovation:

Diffusion of Innovation is defined as “the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system”. The more people you convince of your idea, the more market share and profits you will attain.

• Innovators account for 2.5% of the population. These are the people that come up with ideas.
• Early adopters are those that buy into an idea very early and have a 13.5% representation in the average population. e.g. the ones that wait in line for 14 hours to buy a new product, just to be first.
• Early Majority folks, 34% of the population, are those that buy into an idea, but are slightly skeptical and might wait to see if the idea works before they buy in to it completely.
• Late Majority, also 34% of the population, are those that are not afraid of new ideas, but are even more skeptical than the Early Majority folks. e.g. They might wait to get a 3G cellphone until data prices come down.
• Laggards, accounting for 16% of the population,  are those that don’t embrace an idea at all until they absolutely must. e.g. As Mr. Sinek says, “They buy touch-tone phones simply because they don’t sell rotary phones anymore.”

If a person or corporation can get a good portion of the Early Majority to adopt their idea, word of mouth will grow and just about everyone will buy into their idea eventually, making it a universal culture and no longer an idea. This is a big reason why no one really buys other MP3 products unless they are strapped for the funds and Apple owns about 95% of the portable MP3 player market share. There are even some laggers that have purchased iPods now, including my mother, who wonders how she lived without one for so long.

Everyone can place themselves somewhere within the diffusion of innovation arch for any new idea they have heard or seen. When the iPod was first released many years ago, I found myself in the Early Majority of folks. I bought two MP3 players before I reluctantly purchased an iPod. Now, I’m on my 3rd one and don’t know why I wasted my money on any other similar device. I was a lagger when it came to text messaging. I felt that calling and talking was easier and texting was just dumb. I’ve since come around and use text messaging when communicating with just about everyone in my family and many others.

Now, before I get a ton of email asking me why I’m selling Apple and iPods on TheVolleyballTeacher.com, I’ll move on to what this has to do with coaching volleyball on Page 2.