Start with why
Start with Why – Simon Sinek
Why Start with Why?
If we don’t start with Why, we end up manipulating customers or team members.
There are two types of leaders:•Those who manipulate to achieve the end result, andThose who start withWhy and let everything else naturally fall into place.
Manipulation includes pricing, promotions, fear, aspirations, peer pressure, and novelty. Pricing and promotions—the carrot-and-stick policy—are the most commonly recognized forms of sales manipulation, but fear, aspirations, peer pressure, and novelty tend to be more subtle.
Regardless of the type of manipulation, it is important to understand that these are short-term solutions that lead to a cycle of repeated manipulation.
The Golden Triangle
Why: ‘Why’ gives Purpose.
For most of us the purpose is profit maximization and that is absolutely rational. But it makes more sense in treating profit as the end result and discovering a healthy purpose that will take the Business to profit. This purpose gives direction, energy, enthusiasm and even patience in the bad times.
‘Why’ is all about your purpose. Why does your company exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care? Profit can be earned by various ways but running a particular company needs a particular purpose and Thats where Why comes.
How: Some people and companies know how they do what they do. Whether you call them a
‘’differentiating value proposition’’ or a ‘’unique selling proposition,’’ HOWs are often given to
explain how something is different or better.
What: Every single company on the planet knows what they do. This is true, no matter how big
or small the company is, or no matter what industry they belong to. Everyone can easily
describe the products or services their company sells or the job function they have within the
company.
When we start with “Why”, we go from the inside out of the circle. “Why” is the reason to buy
and the “Whats” merely represent the tangible products as a proof of that belief. “Whats” are
the reasons we can point to rationalize why we so much like a company over another.
Apple Example:Apple communicates from the “Why.” Apple’s “Why” is to challenge the status quo and empower the individual. And their challenging the status quo is a pattern repeating in all they say and do, which is the reason why people perceive Apple as authentic.
The emergency of trust
If Trust gets built up, manipulation is not needed.
“what” and differentiation
Just imagine ‘Physics wala’ training students for CAT. Its difficult to digest although the guy is
competent enough to build a team to train people for CAT exam. He has defined himself with
‘What”. Even if it is restricted to physics there has to be a ‘Why’ to start.
Companies that act like commodity producers have a constant challenge to differentiate
themselves from the competition. Chasing the competition, trying to match them feature-for-
feature only deepens the “What” culture.
“Why” and flexibility
Because consumers are inspired by “Why” you do what you do, companies that begin
communicating with the “Why” have a greater flexibility in the market. Take the example of
Apple and Dell. Apple makes computers. Apple also makes iPads and iPhones.
Dell, on the other hand, is defined by “What” they do. Dell does computers, so consumers don’t
feel comfortable buying anything else from them like say, a tablet or a smartphone. They tried
expanding into different verticals but quickly retreated to “focus on their core business”
“Why” and hiring.
What is the toughest question in the interviews of MBA entrance exams? It’s Why MBA?
Same is in Companies. When employees belong, they will guarantee your success. And they won’t be working hard and looking for an innovative solution for you, they will be doing it for themselves.
The goal is to hire those who are passionate about your “Why”, your purpose, cause or belief,
and who have the attitude that fits your culture. Once that is established, only then should their
skillset and experience be evaluated.
Great companies do not hire skilled people and motivate them; they hire already motivated
people and inspire them. Companies with a strong sense of “Why” are able to inspire their
employees. Such employees are more productive and innovative, and the feeling they bring to
work attracts other people eager to work there as well.
The Tipping point
The Law of Diffusion of Innovations stated by Everett M. Rogers pertains to the bell curve of product adoption. The curve outlines the percentage of the market who adopt your product, beginning with the innovators (2.5%), followed by Early Adopters (13.5%), Early Majority (34%), Late Majority (34%) and Laggards (16%).
The ones who queued up for hours, or days outside an Apple store to buy the latest iPhone are all early adopters and belong to the left side of the curve. The people on the far right instead are never content and never loyal. For a business, it would be prudent to get to know the far right side of this curve better, so that you don’t waste time and money in trying to convert them. While some of them might end up doing business with you, they’ll probably switch to one of your competitors at the drop of a hat if they get a better deal.
The goal of a business then is to be crystal clear about their “Why” and find people who believe what you believe. Once you get enough of the 15-18% on the left side of the bell curve, they will encourage the rest to follow.
Start with why but know how
Energy motivates but charisma inspires. Energy is easy to see, measure and copy. All great
leaders have charisma because all great leaders have clarity of “Why”; an undying belief in a
purpose or cause bigger than themselves.
Sinek cites the example of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Steve Ballmer was energetic. Bill Gates, in spite of being shy and awkward, is charismatic. When Steve Ballmer speaks people are energized, but that tends to dissipate quickly. When Bill Gates speaks people listen with bated breath. They remember those lessons for weeks, months or even years. Charisma commands loyalty while energy doesn’t.
The 'Why' types are Visionaries whereas the 'How' types are Trouble shooters.
Behind every “Why” type of leader, is a “How” type of leader who brings the “Why” to life.
“Why” types are the visionaries with overactive imaginations. They tend to be optimists who
believe that everything they can imagine can be accomplished and they tend to be focused on
things most people can’t see, like the future. “How” types instead are more practical and more
realist and tend to be focused on the things most people can see and tend to be better at
building them.Interestingly, Simon Sinek says that “How” types can be very successful but rarely do they build billion dollar businesses that change the world. And while a “How” type doesn’t necessarily need a “Why” type to succeed, a “Why” type always needs a “How” type or they’ll end up as starving visionaries.
Know why. Know how. Then what?
When a company is small, a founder has plenty of direct contact with the outside world. As it
grows the leader’s role changes. He/she will no longer be the loudest part of the megaphone;
he/she will become the source of the message that is to flow through the megaphone.
The “Why” exists in the part of the brain that control feelings and decision making but not
language. “Whats” exist in the part of the brain that controls rational thought and language.
The leader is the inspiration, the symbol of the reason we do what we do. They represent the
emotional limbic brain. What the company says and does represent the rational thought and
language of the neocortex.
Most companies struggle to differentiate or communicate their true value to the outside world.
When we as human beings struggle to put emotions into word, we rely on metaphors, imagery,
and analogies in an attempt to communicate how we feel. We use symbols. We create tangible
things for those who believe in what we believe to say. If done properly, that’s what marketing products and services are; a way for Communication is about listening
Symbols help us turn the intangible into tangible. And the only reason symbols have meaning is
because we give them a meaning. A logo can only become a symbol when it inspires people to
use it to say something about who they are.
Take the example of Harley Davidson: Harley Davidson embodies the values and lifestyle of the
people using it. The symbol is no longer about Harley Davidson. Instead, the logo embodies
an entire value set—their own. The symbol is no longer about Harley, it’s about the people who
love Harley Davidsons for what they are.
The celery test
What’s good for your competition is not good for you and vice-versa. But how do you know
what is good for you and what isn’t? To do this, Sinek proposes The Celery Test.
Imagine if people told you that to grow you need cookies, Nutella, celery, fruits and ice cream.
Should you get them all? No, because it’s time-consuming, expensive and scatterbrained. What
you do is to filter everything through your “Why.” So, if your “Why” is to lead a healthy
lifestyle, you’d probably pick only the fruits and/or the celery. When you filter your decisions
through your “Why” you save money, time and, most importantly, you stay true to your cause.
When why goes fuzzy
In this chapter, Sinek talks about companies which have lost sight of their original “Why.” Take
the example of Volkswagen and Walmart. Volkswagen literally means “car of the people” and its
image has always been that of reliable, affordable cars for everyone. The original VW Beetle was a cheerful symbol of freedom and a simple, carefree life. So when they introduced the super-expensive, $70,000 VW Phaeton, that flew against their own “Why” and sold nothing.
Walmart was a more serious case. Walmart was started by Sam Walton with the idea of helping people and communities by providing products at low prices. However, after the death of its founders, the company focused only on low prices, forgetting about helping people and the
communities they entered. It ended up becoming a cutthroat business towards its suppliers,
employees and the communities it was a part of. Walmart got into serious trouble when it lost
its initial “Why.”
Sinek says that gaining a clarity of “Why” is not the hardest part. The hardest part is the
discipline to trust one’s gut over outside advice and to stay true to your cause or belief.
The new competition
When you’re up against the world, competing with everyone else, no one wants to help you.
But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.
Now let’s think about how we do business. We’re always competing against someone else.
Better quality. More features. Better service. We’re always comparing ourselves to the
competition. And no one wants to help us.
What if we showed up to work every single day to be better than ourselves? For no better
reason than to want to leave the organization in a better state than we found it?
All organizations start with “Why”, but only the great ones keep their “Why” clear year after
year. Those who forget “Why” they were founded show up to the race every day to outdo
someone else instead of outdoing themselves.
You are your biggest competitor.
Disclaimer
The above write up is just an attempt to save the points that I liked from the Book, “Start with
Why” by Simon Sinek. In the process I have used my judgement, discretion and experience to
land on a particular point.
Vinay Wagh
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