EY and Simon Sinek have joined forces to launch The Why Effect, a new purpose-driven platform to help organizations achieve innovation, growth, and operational excellence through activating their purpose. The Why Effect combines Sinek's theories on purpose with EY's experience in performance consulting. EY and Sinek will offer The Why Effect to help companies reimagine how they operate while still generating needed revenues and margins to reinvest in strategic growth. The platform is designed to improve operations, employee engagement, customer loyalty, and culture.

1. News release
For immediate release
John La Place Sara Toborowsky
EY Start With Why
+1 201 872 1951 +1 917 215 1779
john.laplace@ey.com sara@startwithwhy.com
With Shared Purpose, EY and Simon Sinek Unite to Redefine
How Business Operates in the 21st
Century
NEW YORK, 3 MARCH 2016 — What has worked in the past won’t always work in the future.
Knowing this has inspired EY and Simon Sinek to join forces to challenge many of the norms in
modern business through a new purpose-driven platform called The Why Effect.
Developed by EY and Sinek, the Why Effect combines Sinek’s theories and teachings around
purpose, what he calls “the Why,” with EY experience in performance consulting. The Why
Effect can help organizations achieve innovation, growth and operational excellence through the
activation of their purpose.
“We are excited to team with Simon because both he and EY understand that disruptive forces
are causing organizations to reassess their strategies, priorities and even why they exist,” said
Bob Patton, EY Americas Vice Chair of Advisory Services. “Together, we can inspire and build a
better working world by helping companies successfully transform, innovate and grow.”
EY and Sinek will offer the Why Effect to help companies re-imagine how they operate while still
generating the revenues and margins needed to re-invest in strategic growth. The Why Effect,
currently being piloted, is designed to help organizations with improved operations, higher
employee engagement and teaming, greater customer loyalty and trust, and a stronger culture.
"When EY approached me about co-developing services to take to clients, I leapt at the
opportunity,” added Sinek. “They are so good at taking ideas and bringing them to life. We are
looking for forward-thinking, early adopter companies to join us to do something bold and
redefine the standards of business for the future.”

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The relationship with Sinek will also support EY’s Purpose-Led Transformation services,™ an
approach designed to help articulate and support clients’ transformation objectives by defining
purpose as an organization’s clear reason for being that serves to set strategic vision and
decision-making. Additionally, Sinek has become a part of the EY Beacon Institute’s global
community of C-suite executives, investors, entrepreneurs and academics focused on the goal
of advancing transformation of the working world.
The vast majority of leaders say purpose is important yet admit they do not know how to activate
it. For example, research commissioned by the EY Beacon Institute and conducted by Harvard
Business Review Analytic Services highlights how executives view the power of purpose to grow
and transform their organizations, and measures the challenges of embedding it within their
companies. The report, The Business Case for Purpose, surveyed 474 C-suite executives
globally and found:
Most executives believe purpose matters:
 89% of executives surveyed said a strong sense of collective purpose drives
employee satisfaction
 84% said it can affect an organization’s ability to transform
 80% said it helps increase customer loyalty
However, less than half of the executives surveyed say their company currently has a
strong purpose, and even fewer admit they operate in a purpose-driven way:
 46% said their company has a strong sense of purpose
 44% say their company is trying to develop one
“Theories espoused in the ‘80s and ‘90s have largely become the standard for how business
works today,” said Sinek. “The problem is, those were very different times. Any company that
hopes to have lasting success in the 21st
century has no choice but to re-evaluate how it does
business.”
When EY launched its new brand in 2013, in addition to the requisite strategy and mission, it
defined its purpose as Building a better working world. As one of the few global organizations to

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align itself around a purpose, EY described why it exists. In the years since, the organization has
been recognized for its global leadership in purpose-driven transformation.
From early on, EY knew that a clearly articulated purpose instils strategic clarity. Since
embarking on its own journey to be a purposeful organization, it has become a leader in the
business world’s purpose movement. From sessions with the world’s top industry leaders at the
World Economic Forum and the launch of the EY Beacon Institute in 2015, to its global network
of professionals, EY understands the power of purpose and how it is redefining the way
successful businesses operate.
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and
quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in
economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises
to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for
our people, for our clients and for our communities.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst
& Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited,
a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information
about our organization, please visit ey.com.
This release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member firm serving clients in the US.
About Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek is an optimist and author of the best-selling books Start with Why and Leaders Eat
Last. His Ted Talk on the subject of Why is the third most watched talk of all time on TED.com.
He is regularly sought out to advise on subjects of leadership, culture and innovation to
corporations of all sizes and industries, government, politics and military.