Simon Sinek, founder of Start With Why, is an unshakable optimist. He is a trained ethnographer and author of three books. Fascinated by the leaders who make the greatest impact in their organizations and in the world, he has discovered some remarkable patterns about how they think, act, and communicate, as well as about the environments these leaders help create. He has devoted his life to sharing his thinking in order to assist other leaders and organizations in inspiring action. He is best known for popularizing the concept of "Why" and for the talk he gave on the subject that is the third most watched talk of all time on TED.com, with more than 31 million views. He lives in New York. In this article, he discusses the problem with leadership in higher education today and the cost to students, with Executive Editor, Frank Shushok, Jr.