Simon Sinek on prioritizing shareholders over employees

There’s nothing wrong with short-term decisions, so long as they’re made in the context of long-term ambitions, says Simon Sinek in this video from the March 2026 Autodesk One Team Conference. He assesses that the modern-day public company has over-indexed on the short term at the expense of the long term, at the expense of the employee and at the expense of the customer. His assertions are fuel for thought for leaders who prioritize their fiduciary duty to the shareholder over their duty to the customer and the employee.

 Source: The Optimisum Company, LinkedIn, October 6, 2026. Link. [1:13]

. . . if you take care of your employees, they will love coming to work, find solutions, and bring their best game every single day. Then they will take care of their customers, who will love doing business with you.”