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Considering the inflationary times Americans are struggling with, compounded by the effects of tariffs, it’s hard not to get fixated on the dollar value of job descriptions. But management expert Simon Sinek argues that there’s something more important to consider when interviewing for jobs: the person you’ll be working for.
“If I got one thing right as a young person, it was that I always chose jobs based on who I was going to work with,” Sinek SPOKE The Diary of a CEO podcast. “I don’t care how much they pay.”
Sinek is best known for his 2009 TED Talk of the concept of “why,” and his “Golden Circle” theory, which encourages leaders and organizations to define their core purpose or belief as a basis for motivating employees and customers. His TED Talk is one of the most viewed of all time, with more than 60 million views on the TED website only. Sinek has more than 8.7 million followers on LinkedIn today.
This management teacher trained as an ethnographer, studying patterns of how effectively leaders and organizations think, act, and communicate to create environments where people function at their best levels. He studied cultural anthropology at Brandeis University and later started, but did not finish, law school at City University of London. Early in his career, he worked in advertising for New York-based agencies including Euro RSCG and Ogilvy & Mather, but later launched his own consultancy, Sinek Partners.
But Sinek credits his career success to his early days when he prioritized finding the best teachers over a higher salary.
“By the way, it’s not like I have money, (but) I know they’re going to pay me something. I know I can pay my bills,” Sinek said. “I’m not a trust fund kid, I need an income. But one company offered me $5,000 more, and one company offered me $5,000 less.
“Yes, I made less than all my friends in the short term,” he continued. But “I got an education and care from someone who took me under their wing.”
What other experts say about prioritizing teaching over salary
Some of the most successful people in business also preach to prioritize teaching over salary in your early career.
Warren Buffett, who is set to retire as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway in just a few days, said it was “hugely important” to the success of his partner.
“Don’t worry about the starting salary and be very careful who you work with because you’re going to make the habits of the people around you,” Buffett said at a shareholder meeting in May. “There are certain jobs you shouldn’t take.”
He said he had five bosses in his life, “and I liked every one of them.”
“They’re all interesting,” Buffett continued. “I decided that I would rather work for myself than for anyone else.
Oprah Winfrey also credits her continued success in the early days of her career when legendary writer Maya Angelou mentored her. Winfrey met Angelou in 1986, the year she debuted The Oprah Winfrey Show. Although he had already established himself as a talk show host, his relationship with Angelou continued to inspire him throughout his career.
“Anyone who has had any level of success in their life has gotten to where they are because someone, somewhere, is a guiding light,” Winfrey wrote in a 2024 article about his teaching from Angelou. “They may not be a perfect, constant teacher in your life, but no one is, but no one is alone here.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
