# The Success Secret: How the Best Startups Start Up (and How You Can, too) ### The secret to startup success? Understanding human behavior as well as the world’s best spies do Anyone who’s seen the most recent spy movie knows that every spy’s top resume skill is “manipulation.” If you think about it, that’s just cool kid speak for emotional intelligence (with a nefarious end goal). Everyone acts like this concept is some big secret, but it’s NOT. We’ve all got empathy. And it comes in many forms. Being able to read a room and adjust your communication style, for example, lets you connect with the right people at the right time. Being able to learn everything you can about the people that have a problem lets you make tailored solutions that are good business. Whatever example of emotional intelligence you choose to focus on, we can all agree it’s the key to succeeding in both business and life. No corporate espionage required. At least that’s what we’ve learned reading hundreds of free guides on topics from marketing to management. If you’re not sure where to start, remember: your target customers will leave you clues to understanding their psyche if you ask the right questions. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://diy-startup-school.gitbook.io/welcome-to-diy-startup-school/the-success-secret-how-the-best-startups-start-up-and-how-you-can-too.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.