Start With Why

Introduction

"Start With Why", by motivational speaker Simon Sinek, dives deep into leadership and inspiration. It proposes a powerful concept: The Golden Circle.

• This framework flips the script on traditional communication. Most focus on the what (products or services) and the how (features and benefits). But Sinek argues the most inspiring leaders start with why: their core purpose, cause, or belief.
• People connect with a strong why more than just features, and this emotional connection fuels loyalty and action.

The Illusion of Knowledge: Why We Make Mistakes

We are constantly making assumptions about the world around us based on incomplete or even inaccurate information.

• These perceived truths then influence our choices and behaviours.

Even with our best efforts - reading books, attending conferences and seeking advice from experts, not all decisions lead to the desired outcome.

• Some are minor bumps in the road, while others carry significant consequences.
• Occasionally, a good result might stem from intuition rather than logical analysis, but luck plays a part too.

Crucially, the initial decision often sets the course for achieving our goals.

• When the outcome deviates from the plan, short-term tactics can yield similar short-term results, but they are unlikely to guarantee long-term success.

Building Loyalty: Inspiration Over Manipulation

In today's market, the first-mover's advantage for something truly novel is often lost within months.

• Competitors quickly emerge with similar or even better offerings in terms of price, quality and features.
• This begs the question: Why should a customer remain loyal to you?

There are two ways to influence human behaviour: manipulation and inspiration.

Manipulation

• This approach uses tactics like price drops, promotions, fear appeals, peer pressure, celebrity endorsements, aspirational messaging and promises of innovation.
• While these tactics can breed short-term gains like purchases, votes or support, they fail to build loyalty. Over time, they become increasingly expensive. However, for businesses focused on one-time or infrequent transactions where customer loyalty is less critical, these tactics might be effective.
• To illustrate, while low prices can initially attract customers, but then buyers expect low prices forever. Sellers, facing overwhelming pressure for sales, forced to continuously cut prices to compete, sacrificing profit margins in the process.
• Fear, real or perceived, can be a powerful motivator for compliance (e.g. code of ethics, safety precautions, insurance purchases, smoking cessation).
• Aspirational messages use the desire for a better life to entice people (e.g. gym memberships), often lead to short-lived behaviour changes.
• Peer pressure works not because the majority or the experts are always right, but because we fear that we may be wrong.

Inspiration

• This approach focuses on "why" - the purpose or cause behind your product or service.
• It involves communicating a clear vision that resonates with people's emotions and values.
• When inspired, customers believe in the company's mission and are willing to pay a premium, endure inconveniences, or even make personal sacrifices to support it.
• They follow not because they are forced to, but because they want to.
• True leadership inspires people to stay with you through challenges and successes.

The Golden Circle: Purpose-Process- Product Model

The Golden Circle unlocks the secrets of human behaviour, revealing a clear pattern in our choices - driven by deeper motivations.

• By prioritizing purpose ("why") at the outset of any endeavour, it empowers us to achieve far greater things.
• This inspiring inside-out approach starts with "why" (the purpose, cause or belief), then outlines "how" it will be achieved, and finally unveils the "what" - the product or service that brings it to life.
• Companies that clearly share their WHY can create a powerful connection with us. If we identify with their values, we might even go out of our way to buy their products. It is not always about quality, but about feeling like we belong to a community with shared beliefs.
  
• Therefore, to inspire others, it starts with clarity of WHY (belief), followed by the discipline of HOW (actions) and consistency of WHAT (everything you say and do). The end product is authenticity, which builds trust and strong relationships. When trust is absent, self-interest becomes the primary motivator, leaving everyone vulnerable to manipulation.

People do not buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

• This applies not only to consumers choosing products but also to building relationships and inspiring loyalty in business.
• It is not your achievements (e.g. personal wealth, salary, large collaborative projects) that matter most; it is the values that drive them.

While knowing your WHY is not the sole key to success, it is the foundation for lasting achievement.

• A clear purpose fosters innovation and adaptation, allowing you to navigate change while staying true to your core values.
• A fuzzy "Why" - characterized by chasing fleeting market opportunities that deviate from the core purpose, erodes the very foundation of your initial success: growth, loyalty and inspiration.
• Furthermore, focusing solely on "WHAT" you do (products, services) can narrow your vision and blind you to emerging technologies that could be crucial for future success, like the train being replaced by the airplane for long-distance travel. After all, adding a feature (benefit) or two hardly qualifies as an innovative idea with the potential to transform an industry.
  

Beyond Words: The Emotional Core of Decisions

Simon Sinek also argues that the levels of the Golden Circle correspond directly to the three major parts of the brain.

• The "WHAT" aligns with the neocortex, responsible for rational thought, analysis, and language.
• Meanwhile, the middle two sections of the Golden Circle ("WHY" and "HOW") map to the limbic system, which governs our feelings (like trust and loyalty) and drives all human behaviour and decision-making.

The limbic system, which controls our feelings and decision-making, has no capacity for language.

• Hence, we have trouble explaining love or gut feeling; we can only rationalize them with words.

In The Naked Brain, Richard Restak argues that rational decisions tend to take longer and can sometimes lead to overthinking.

• In contrast, decisions made with the limbic brain, often called gut decisions, tend to be faster and of higher-quality. However, our inability to verbalize the reasons behind these decisions may cause us to doubt ourselves or trust the empirical evidence even when our gut feeling says no.
  

Even more surprisingly, the limbic system's influence can make it difficult for people to articulate exactly what they want.

• This can lead to seemingly illogical or irrational behaviours.
• For example, we might leave the comfort of home to explore new destinations, choose laundry detergent based on a pleasant scent rather than effectiveness, or pay a premium for a phone due to brand loyalty even if a competitor offers similar features at a lower price.
  

Building a Strong Company Culture

A company's culture, its core set of beliefs and values, acts as a magnet, attracting individuals who resonate with those principles.

• This fosters a better fit for employees, leading to greater happiness and success within the organization.

Great leadership goes beyond operational expertise.

• A leader may hold the highest rank through merit, fortune or political manoeuvring.
• True leadership however, inspires others to follow, not because of obligation or compensation, but because they want to. This desire stems from the trust, which is built upon a clear "why" - the leader's purpose, cause or belief - and reinforced by consistent "what" - their actions and decisions.
• While the "why" provides the direction and motivation, the "how" is about the execution. Those who understand the "why" (the visionaries) need those who know "how" (the realists) to translate the vision into reality. This is where skilled individuals with operational expertise come in.
• "What" (e.g. products, services, marketing) you do can change with the times but be consistent with your "Why" to maintain inspiration and loyalty.

When a company is small, the founder has plenty of direct contact with the outside world and makes a majority of the big decisions.

• The real challenge starts when systems and processes are added and other people join.
• Now, the leader needs people who share their "why" (purpose) and the "how" (skills) to make it happen.
• The "how-types" build systems and hire others to bring the "why" to life, while everyone else demonstrates it through their daily work.
• However, as the organization grows and becomes successful, the process often reverses. The focus shifts to WHAT, with all systems and processes geared towards achieving tangible results. This prioritization of short-term gains can increase the risk of failure in the long run. It is important to remember that true success comes from staying true to your core values and purpose, not simply outdoing others.

Employees are the foundation of any successful organization.

• Individuals who come to work with a clear sense of purpose ("why") are more likely to persevere through failures because they understand the bigger picture.
• It is a company's responsibility to prioritize its employees. Happy employees create happy customers, who in turn, lead to happy shareholders.
• Those who follow trust that decisions made at the top have the best interests of the group at heart. This trust fuels their commitment, empowering them to innovate and work towards a shared purpose.
• Also, great leaders excel at finding individuals who share the company's values and purpose, fostering a strong sense of belonging and collective drive.

However, when CEOs prioritize personal gain over employee well-being and responsible leadership, trust crumbles.

• This breakdown in trust leads to a culture of self-preservation, where employees focus on internal politics and external competition for survival, ultimately hindering the company's overall success.

Marketing and the Diffusion of Innovation

Everett M. Rogers describes that our population is broken into five adopter segments that follow a bell curve: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards.

• Importantly, people value things differently, influencing their behaviours in embracing new ideas.
• Innovators and early adopters are more intuition-driven. Early adopters, in particular, are willing to pay a premium or suffer some level of inconvenience to experience something new that resonates with them.
• The early and late majority are more practical minded (rational factors like utility and proven effectiveness matter most). The early majority is slightly more comfortable with new ideas or technologies.
• Laggards are the most resistant to change. They only adopt innovations when they become the norm.

The "Law of Diffusion" suggests that mass-market success relies on penetrating the early majority (around 15-18% of the market).

• This is because the early majority waits of others to test the waters before adopting something.
• To appeal to this segment, companies might reduce perceived risk by lowering prices or offering value-added services (such as warranties or free trials).
• Alternatively, companies can also achieve success by inspiring them to choose products based on a strong "why" that resonates with their values.

Summary

The book repeatedly references Apple's success as a prime example of challenging the status quo and the importance of having a clear "why" for starting a venture.

• Great leaders embody a balanced Golden Circle. They are relentlessly pursuing their WHY (driven by passion and a deep sense of purpose), holding themselves accountable for HOW they do things, and ensuring their WHAT serves as tangible proof of their beliefs.
• Fundamentally, Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" also explores how understanding and fulfilling fundamental human desires can influence behaviours.

As James Clear highlights in "Atomic Habits", these desires include basic needs like food, water, love, connection, stability, and recognition.

• Many modern-day habits capitalize on these ancient desires.
• We use Tinder to fulfil our desire for connection and love.
• Social media platforms like Facebook cater to our need to bond and belong.
• We post on Instagram to gain social approval and recognition.
• Google satisfies our desire to reduce uncertainty by providing information.
• Even video games can fulfil a need for status and achievement.

By understanding these core human desires, we can craft products and experiences that resonate deeply.