Transcript

SINEK

And it's probably the world's simplest idea. I call it the golden circle. Why, how, what, this little idea explains why some organisations and some leaders are able to inspire where others aren't. Let me define the terms really quickly.

Every single person, every single organisation on the planet knows what they do 100%. Some know how they do it, whether you call it your differentiating value proposition or your proprietary process or your USP. But very, very few people or organisations know why they do what they do. And by why, I don't mean to make a profit. That's a result. It's always a result.

By why, I mean, what's your purpose? What's your cause? What's your belief? Why does your organisation exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?

Well, as a result, the way we think, the way we act, the way we communicate is from the outside in. It's obvious. We go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. But the inspired leaders and the inspired organisations, regardless of their size, regardless of their industry, all think, act, and communicate from the inside out. Let me give you an example.

I use Apple because they're easy to understand and everybody gets it. If Apple were like everyone else, a marketing message from them might sound like this. We make great computers. They're beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. Want to buy one?

And that's how most of us communicate. That's how most marketing is done. That's how most sales are done. And that's how most of us communicate interpersonally. We say what we do. We say how we're different or how we're better. And we expect some sort of behaviour, a purchase, a vote, something like that.

Here's our new law firm. We have the best lawyers with the biggest clients. We always perform for our clients that do business with us. Here's our new car. It gets great gas mileage. It has leather seats. Buy our car. But it's uninspiring.

Here's how Apple actually communicates. Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?

Totally different, right? You're ready to buy a computer from me. All I did was reverse the order of the information. What it proves to us is that people don't buy what you do. People buy why you do it. People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it.