Looking Into Sinek’s Start With WHY
What’s your reason to wake up every morning?
How many times have we asked ourselves this question?
While Simon Sinek is all about starting with WHY in the context of business, we also found his philosophy quite relevant in everyday life, as we sipped through our cappuccinos and relished the rest of the Sunday mundaneness.
The very first response to Sinek is an ‘upside down’ deja vu from Alice! Have we been looking at businesses all wrong?
His first claim is that the businesses that truly grow and stand the test of time do not start with a WHAT or a HOW to approach. Rather, they all begin with a WHY! They stay authentic to their identity and belief, and that resonates with the belief of their clientele. That’s why they tick!
Apple sells not because they make great computers, which they do. But so do their competitors. They don’t sell because they make their gadgets with great style and precision either. They sell because they stand true to their core belief — ‘Challenge the status quo’.
So why do we buy into their belief if we have similar and possibly cheaper products out there?
The reason goes back to basic human biology! Decisions are often instinctive and come from the feeling part of the brain, despite the perceived logicality to it. In other words, despite the humongous amounts of facts and figures the human brain processes, it’s the feelings and emotions corresponding to the limbic brain that really do the decision making.
Unlike the neocortex, which handles data, logic and speech, the limbic brain goes with what feels like an emotional instinct eventually.
To the marketers of the world, this would make complete sense! In Apple’s case, our belief resonates because the idea of challenging the status quo appeals to the emotional side of most millennials and Gen Z. It’s aspirational — which explains the fervent brand loyalty on display. When it comes to Apple products.
THE WHY — HOW — WHAT PROCESSES
While the WHY is paramount to thriving in the long run and creating consumer affiliation and loyalty, the WHY by itself is just a vision! You need the WHY to actualize through the HOW and WHAT with precision, quality and excellence. Hence visionaries always need executors and vice versa.
Sinek also talks about the tipping point or the law of diffusion of innovation, where for mass adoption, one needs the early and the late majority — who are heavily influenced in their decision making by innovators and early adopters — who in turn, buy into beliefs.
Starting with a WHY is not just relevant to building great businesses, it goes a long way into building great company cultures and leaders too! People with strong WHYs create organizations, companies, cults and inspire societies. Which made us really wonder what constituted a great WHY for us as individuals. Why do we do the things we do? What’s our reason to wake up every morning?
While the book makes a great read, the TED talk goes a long way to explain Sinek’s theory and shift focus to WHY.
