How three letters can change everything about your company.

Chris Eldridge
Aug 27, 2017 · 4 min read

Many of us have seen the Ted Talk with Simon Sinek around “The Golden Circle” and the power it has on a companies behavior as well as a way to help guide leadership from within the company itself. This video has been viewed millions of times, and even though Sinek uses simple examples to help teach us about the circle, it actually has much more meaning that the 18 minute video.

To help articulate this video, Simon has written the book “Start With Why” which goes into the Golden Circle in much greater detail. The book explains, that people do not buy WHAT we do, but instead WHY we do it. This internal feeling that we all get when we are attached to a product is beacuse we share a common feeling and belief in WHY a company is in business. HOW your company does something is simply the way that we express WHY we do WHAT we do.

People don’t buy WHAT we do, the buy WHY we do it…

From reading this book it has opened a new door for me to be able to tell if a company is going to be successful in the long run. Sure, any company can have a blockbuster product… but will the company last the long haul after the early adoptors through the early majority of buyers are gone and the tipping point of the companies success starts to go downhill? That is where WHY becomes so important.

It is easy for a company who is just starting up be able to help communicate to its employees, investors, and future customers the reason why they exist. These initial followers of the new company know what it means to bleed their new company values and exert the very reason WHY they exist. This normally then gets reussured by providing the company’s “what” as a product or service that backs up their “why”.

The hardest part of a company’s long term success however comes at the time of the split. This is when “why” suddenly gets lost in your company’s day to day operations. When this happens, financials, and your product or service become the main point of focus instead of why you exist in the first place. This is normally triggered from the top down in an organization, and eventually ends up trickling down to the employees. These employees however, have a larger impact on the “what” that you are selling and are the ones communicating with your customers.

The only way to fix this problem is by catching it before it gets out of control. The book uses the example of Apple and Dell. Apple has a cult like following with its customers, however everyone inside Apple also bleeds Apple constantly because they know WHY they exist. Apple’s why is “With everything we do, we aim to challenge the status quo. We aim to think differently. Our products are user friendly, beautifully designed, and easy to use. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?" where Dell starts with that they “make great computers”

This simple word of “WHY” can play a big factor in the success and growth of a company. Having a strong why is a way of showing that we have focus, and passion to work togeather to create great companies. A company without a why is just another company that exists, and might be doing well, but has no map as to what way it is going to go. These companies normally go day in and day out doing the same thing, with little motiviation to challenge the status quo and make decisions off a set path of normalcy.

Understanding your companies WHY is impeccable for any person who is a leader in their organization. These principles are strong enough to help move companies into the right direction. The catch is to implement your companies “WHY” prior to getting to far past the split or you will have a much more difficult time getting back on track to innovation and growth.

So remember, people don’t buy what you do they buy WHY you do it. Allow your customers and employees to feel the same passion you feel about your company. When everyone has passion around the company it created emotion that allows people to feel an emotional connection that everyone wants to be a part of.

Understand your WHY, and understand how your company can continue to grow naturally.

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Entrepreneur and business operations guru who loves to find solutions to true customer pain points! - @celdridge8

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