Leaders Eat Last

Leaders Eat Last was a great read that really made me think about what leadership should look like. The main idea — that great leaders create environments where people feel safe, supported, and valued — stuck with me throughout the book. It explains why some teams naturally come together and perform well, while others fall apart even when they have talent. I really liked how Simon Sinek breaks down the “chemistry of leadership,” especially the way he explains trust, culture, and the biological side of teamwork. The stories he uses — from the military, business, and everyday workplaces — make the concepts easy to understand and apply. It helped me look at leadership from a different angle and think more about how my own actions can affect the people around me. The book also made me reflect on environments I’ve worked in where leadership either pushed people together or pushed them away. It’s eye-opening to see how much stronger a team becomes when people feel protected instead of pressured. If there’s one downside, it’s that some of the examples can feel a little long or occasionally repeat similar themes. But the core message is strong enough that it still feels worth reading. Overall, Leaders Eat Last is a meaningful book with lessons that apply far beyond the workplace. If you care about building trust, strengthening teams, and understanding what real leadership looks like, this is a great one to add to your list.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this used book. It arrived in good condition, with minimal wear and little to no major damage. The pages were clean and easy to read, and the content itself is excellent on improving leadership skills and what makes great leaders who they are. A great value for anyone looking to enjoy this book without paying full price.

Simon Sinek has demonstrated in his book that we are all humans that should be treated with respect. In this regard businesses are starting to forget about the core fundamentals that make profit without considering people as just numbers. The more exposure leaders get with their employees the better the leaders should treat his company. In return for this generous care and safety employees start to take the company more then just a place to work. Employees will wear their company on their shoulders and would be proud to work at the company for as long as they would be allowed. Without safety or trust though comes a high stress environment where employees feel lifeless. They come for the money then leave, this leads to people not feeling safe and secure and causes them to not trust their leader in helping them support their family. Successful companies treat their employees like their children; they will not lay off employees when times get bad but actually treat them with even more safety. This simple act of kindness allows employees themselves to protect one another such as ideas of having mandatory no pay vacations in small doses so they can all pull together and wait out the bad times of the company. Simon talks about key terms such as the circle of safety as well as our biology with selfish chemicals such as endorphin and dopamine. The other two chemicals that we receive are called selfless chemicals and they are serotonin and oxytocin. Endorphins come from physical activity, or stress and fear. When it is released into our body it masks pain with pleasure. This is also seen when we start to enjoy exercising and how some people can complete long triathlons. This chemical gives us the next step in what we need to cover a great distance. Dopamine is the reward we receive when we accomplish something or become near to accomplishing a task. Dopamine is slowly released little by little when we get closer to finishing something. The dopamine amount is also relative to how hard the task is. Dopamine is the reason why we continue with projects because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Serotonin is the feeling we get when we feel recognized and appreciated. It gives us confidence and makes us strong when we receive a compliment of our abilities as a person. examples of this is when we walk receive an award for best employee in front of all your co-workers, or walking down graduation day being held your degree you worked so hard to get. Oxytocin is the chemical we receive when we develop deep trust with another person. When someone does something nice to us we get a rush of oxytocin in our blood and it is a feeling what some call the chemical love. Oxytocin is also responsible for making us vulnerable and open up. This gives us a equal share in the group to bare our inner circle of safety which gives us an easier time to focus on tasks. These two terms go hand in hand and it is up to the leaders to create the circle of safety for their employees in the work environment a place they feel safe and secure. Without the circle of safety being received by all employees, trust and integrity go down the drain and slowly grab the company in a slow but sure spiral of how the company should be. These chemicals should be in balance and it is up to how the leader structures their company to ensure their employees are receiving the circle of safety. The military and basic human fundamentals are clear examples Simon based his theories on and I feel he did a good job explaining himself. Fantastic book and a must read!

Leaders Eat Last is a powerful and inspiring read for anyone who truly wants to earn the right to lead. Simon Sinek masterfully explains that leadership is not about titles or numbers — it’s about people. Our greatest asset isn’t on a balance sheet — it’s the human beings we serve, guide, and grow with. This book explores different leadership styles and shows how leadership, when done with empathy and integrity, can be astronomical in its impact. As my father, the great Walter Leon Freeman, always said, “Treat people how you would want to be treated.” That principle resonated deeply with the message of this book. I appreciated how Sinek broke down the difference between leadership driven by trust and loyalty versus leadership driven by metrics and pressure. The wrong approach can be devastating — to morale, to culture, and ultimately to long-term success. One caveat: I would have gladly given this book 5 stars, but my Kindle showed it was complete at 82%, which made me think the book had ended prematurely. I felt something was missing. However, like a well-crafted Marvel movie, Sinek added bonus content for those who stuck around — and I’m glad I did. The final chapters dove into an essential topic: how to lead and understand Millennials (Gen Y). That insight alone opened my eyes and mind to a whole new level of leadership. Sinek also exemplified true leadership by dedicating a chapter to thank those who helped him create the book and credited his sources — a reminder that no great leader succeeds alone. I highly recommend Leaders Eat Last to any current or aspiring leader. Simon Sinek doesn’t just teach leadership — he lives it, and it shows in every chapter of this awesome read.

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek arrived promptly and in excellent condition, with great delivery service. This book is a powerful exploration of leadership and team dynamics. Sinek argues that great leaders prioritize the well-being of their teams and create environments where people feel safe, valued, and motivated to work together toward a common goal. Through real-world examples and compelling research, Sinek explains how leaders who focus on fostering trust and cooperation can create teams that thrive. The book is well-written, engaging, and filled with practical insights that can be applied in both professional and personal settings. Whether you’re leading a team or looking to improve teamwork within an organization, this book provides valuable lessons on how to create a positive and effective team culture. Leaders Eat Last is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership, organizational culture, and teamwork.

Good leadership books that translate into church leadership are rare. "Leaders Eat Last" is one of those rare books. This book is one of the best leadership texts for ministers and elders. At Castle Rock, we are journeying through this book together as a leadership team. We review each chapter, and talk about principles that we can apply to ourselves to improve the level of service we give to the congregation. This book is well written and informative. The beginning of the book developed the paradigm for the author. If you want people to follow you, you have to provide protection for them. You need to be loyal to them for them to be loyal to you. It is the idea of creating a sense of safety within the organization, because if people are busy fighting one another, there will be little attention given to developing the mission of the organization. Internal chaos causes people to be worried about self-preservation, and not about extending the reach of the group. The author talks about various chemicals within the body that help in this process. The book talks about various qualities that the leader needs, like the foxhole test. You have to have courage to do the right thing, even when the right thing seems wrong. Another valuable principle is the abstraction distance within an organization. The greater distance between the levels of people creates a sense of a lack of empathy, hence a lack of caring. You do not experience the pain of the people on the bottom level, so you feel comfortable firing them. The last part of the book develops various leadership lessons that are practical. Over and over again, I was highlighting this book, and thinking about how important this work was for church leadership. This is not a preacher or elder book per say, but in my opinion, every church leader should read it. Rarely do I come across I book I would recommend this strong, but this is such a book.

So I'm only on Chapter 4, but this is just a great book on leadership.... practical, inexpensive common sense, easy to do strategies. It's just not as difficult as some may think... be kind.

Once I finished "Leaders Eat Last", I noticed that most of the highlighting I had done in the book was in the first 1/4-1/2. That's not to say that the book wasn't well rounded, but I took more away from the front half than I did the back half. Throughout the book, you'll read about a number of studies/stories that Sinek uses to drive home several of his points. To me, this way of teaching really helps to solidify the lessons being taught. I started this book thinking it would be heavily focused on business and how to be a better manager. Once I completed the book, I was surprised to find that the intent was about being a better person, not simply a better leader. There are a number of key points in the book where I had to stop for a moment and look to my past organizations and day dream about how Sinek's lessons seemed to ring true in my own working life. "Leaders Eat Last" helped to open my mind to show what organizations (and leaders) in my past did well, did poorly, and how it changed the culture within the given organization. "Leaders Eat Last" is a great read for anyone looking to improve on their leadership qualities, and in return, improve their organizations. There are several videos online featuring Sinek. These videos incorporate a number of the same stories and studies mentioned in "Leaders Eat Last" (some word for word). Watching these videos after I completed the book helped me to understand many of the points that Sinek was making. "Leaders Eat Last" is a much easier read than a number of management style books on the market. The featured stories are exciting, the studies mentioned are relevant (and different than what other books mention), and Sinek's style of writing kept me engaged. I do wish the ending of the book was as strong as the beginning, but I believe "Leaders Eat Last" should be on the shelf of anyone looking to rank up in their given profession. If you ever have looked at a book after I got done reading it, you'd notice I am "one of those readers". The books are filled with random highlights and Post-It bookmarks, that point to things I found interesting or that I wanted to remember. Here are some of my favorite highlights from "Leaders Eat Last"-some spoilers possible. These highlights are just some of my takeaways. Just because I highlighted a thought, does not mean I share this same belief or that I am in agreement: "I know of no study in history that describes an organization that has been managed out of a crisis. Every single one of them was led" "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader" "As employees or members of the group, we need the courage to take care of each other when our leaders don't. And in doing so, we become the leaders we wish we had" Sinek points to the nomadic Mongolian families as an example showcasing that certain groups who, "may not have much", share what little they do have with others because it's in their best interest (and survival) to do so. I found Chapter 13 "Abstraction Kills" to be the best chapter in the book. In this chapter, Sinek goes into detail about how the trial of horrible experiment(s) in Nazi Germany, resulted in individuals pleading innocence because they were simply following orders. Sinek couples this story with the Milgram Experiment. In this study, we see that people will push the limits simply to obey orders. I found Chapter 13 to be relevant to a number of fields still today. We often watch the news and find someone did something (or lack of action) simply because a higher power advised them to do so. The lack of connection between the two parties often resulted in unfortunate circumstances. In Chapter 15 "Managing the Abstraction" Sinek does a terrific shop in showing that numbers aren't always the best way to tell a story. Sinek describes the optics of the brutality of a government on its own people (a large number) vs a detailed story about the death of a young female (one person, but with detail). Both are horrible and sad situations, but in most cases a connection is stronger with a small number and a story, then a number that is almost too big for us to comprehend. "At some point the numbers lose their connection to the people and become just numbers, void of meaning. Sinek details a story about Captain Marquet who was set to take command of the most efficient crew in the US Navy. Captain Marquet was moved to take command of the lowest ranking crew (but with one of the newest subs). Through a series of events Captain Marquet had to change his management style and admit that it was not about his command, rather it was the crews ability to work together that resulted in a complete turnaround. Lastly, one of my favorite highlights of "Leaders Eat Last", was Sinek's take on the idea of participation trophies and rewards. "Rewards for basic participation have other adverse effects as well. They not only deny children the chance to learn important lessons about adversity, loss, and resilience, but they can also encourage complacency and overconfidence.