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Start with Why -Simon Sinek - Coggle Diagram
Start with Why
-Simon Sinek
Intro - Why start with Why
The Wright Brothers vs. Langley
Martin Luther King
Steve Jobs and Wozniak and Apple Computers
We must be inspired by the
cause
Part One - A World that Doesn't Start with Why
Chapter One - Assume You Know
The January Inauguration, met with thunderous applause...that was Hitler's, not JFKs
The Japan car factory, who's doors fit because they were designed to from the start and not because they had a band-aid at the end of the line
"Begin with the End in Mind". Successful projects don't start from
only
data, they have a different sort of initiation...
Chapter Two - Carrots and Sticks
Inspirational vs. Transactional Interactions
Transactional interactions are short-sighted and do not create "Loyal" customers - usually, these businesses will get "one-and-done" customers
mygoldenvelope.com - the gold mail-in pawn service eventually realized that gimmicky marketing just cost them more
Carrots and Sticks
Price
Wal-Mart
Promotion
Car buy-backs
Mail-in rebates
"Free" Accessory
Fear
Sensationalist News / Politicians
Aspirational
"6-Minute Abs" type exercise routines
The system might work, but is unsustainable
Peer-Pressured
9 out of 10 Doctors Agree
Celebrity X says "Use This Thingy!"
Novelty
30+ kinds of Colgate - so much that they need a "how to choose" filter tool
The RAZR Phone
Part Two - An Alternative Perspective
Chapter Three - The Golden Circle (Why -> How -> What)
Why -> How -> What - the Golden Circle
Many (most) have it backwards - they first talk about how they do it, then what it is, then often omit the WHY entirely and go straight to CTA.
The Apple Ad example - Why we do what we do, What we do to live up to that, and HOW we plan to do so.
Why do we do what we do, and what can do to bring it about, and how can we do that?
Railroads -> "We're the Railroad!" (WHAT) only to fail to other forms of mass transit...what if, instead, it was "We are in mass transit!" (a WHY). Would they have reacted differenty?
Apple's ability to get into more than just computer sales was because their WHY was never "to build PCs", but to "challenge the status quo" and "think differently".
People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it
Apple vs. Creative - Creative sold a 5GB mp3 player (a WHAT), Apple sold "1000s of Songs in your Pocket" (a WHY). Why do I care vs. what is the thing?
Chapter Four - This Is Not Opinion, It Is Biology
Why/What is covered by our Limbic brain, the Lizard/Monkey brain. It is FAR faster and more powerful than our Neocortex, which often only rationalizes what the Limbic system has already decided (in a way that makes us feel smart/sophisticated/altruistic for having done so)
People
think
they resonate with the WHAT and HOW, but really...they're resonating with the WHY and justifying the WHAT/HOW later.
Richard Restak - "The Naked Brain" - when people are forced to use the rational part of their brain only, they overanalyze and make mistakes. "Go with your Gut" is prudent advice. The doubt comes in when we can't
rationalize
our decision.
The Thinker thinks and the Prover proves - Robert Antoine Wilson in
Prometheus Rising
Colin Powell and the 70/40 rule (80/30 in this book...). Make the decision with 30% of the info, 80% is too much and will cause "paralysis by analysis"
People want to
identify
with something - a cause, an ideal, something that makes them feel noble/altruistic
I'm a MAC and I'm a PC commercials - create the identity
Apple did a promo release of iPods with U2...not Celine Dion. Why? U2 appealed to their fanbase.
Chapter Five - Clarity, Discipline, and Consistency
We need:
Clarity of WHY - without clarity here, we cannot articulate. We only have features. The only "authenticity" we can bring is in our WHATs and HOWs, which leads to "what can we say in our marketing that will make you feel that we are more authentic?"
Discipline in HOW - HOW we do things is dependent upon our WHY. Without a strong, clear WHY, the HOW becomes spur-of-the-moment and based on very vague things (integrity...to what? Honesty? Profit?!)
Consistency in WHAT - WHAT our HOWs bring about will be consistent if the HOW is based on the WHY. The WHY doesn't change, so the HOW doesn't change, so the WHATs produced stay consistent.
In the right order - WHY first!
Think Delta vs. Southwest airlines - Southwest had a strong WHY - "To be a champion of the common traveler". They weren't competing over WHAT/HOW (air travel for the 15% of people that, at the time, actually used it). They competed with the WHY.
Like dating - if we start with the WHAT we are/have, we might manipulate some people into checking us out...but if we start with WHY, we lay the groundwork for a real relationship based on mutual principles/values. (Selling is like dating).
Degrees of Certainty
with a WHAT, we can
think
it's right
with a HOW, we can
feel
it's right
but with a WHY, we can finally
know
it is right - it aligns with our why
Part Three - Leaders Need a Following
Chapter Six - The Emergence of Trust
Langley vs. the Wright Brothers - state-sponsored celebrities vs. high-school dropouts. Who won?
Shackleton and his ad for his South Pole expedition team - the expedition what went horribly wrong, but yet nobody died. They had trust, camaraderie.
Trust comes with consistent adherence to principles - to your WHY. Serve those that serve you.
Southwest Airlines - Bankrupted in 1983 AND 1991, then made $250m in '94 after Bethune took over and made it all about the EMPLOYEES. Take care of the employees, earn their trust, and they will in return pay back with interest.
We trust those with whom we share an idenitity
The American Dream
The French joie de vivre
The local babysitter vs. the one from out of town
Two masons - one is "building a wall", but the other is "building a cathedral with a team of others". Who has more buy-in? Who trusts his team more?
Chapter Seven - How a Tipping Point Tips
Buyers can be split into groups based on their willingness to try a new product. To hook the first 15% (and, thus, get ourselves into the Majorities), we need to hook them with our WHY. Most won't try something new until someone else has "gone first".
2.5% are Innovators
13.5% are Early Adopters
34% are Early Majorities
34% are Late Majorities
16% are Laggards
TiVo failed to follow the Golden Circle. It failed to give people a WHY and focused merely on the WHAT. This missed the "early adopters" , which meant it never broke into the masses.
MLK had a Dream, not a Plan. People resonated with him because of his WHY, not because of his HOW or WHAT
Manipulating our way through the first 15% doesn't build loyalty. It may get us sales, but it won't get us loyal customers and referrals. It doesn't create a movement.
Part Four - How to Rally Those who Believe
Chapter Eight - Start with WHY, but know HOW
The Golden Circle -> The Golden Cone. the WHY leader is at the top, the next layer has the HOW people.
HOW people and WHY people can be very different, but yet benefit each other. Complement each other. Often, they are essential to each others' success.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
Walt and Joe Disney
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer
I am a HOW person by nature, and I've said this for YEARS. I'm not the guy who has the idea, I'm the guy who can make the idea work. I need to incorporate the WHY, though, or find someone else who can (Who, not How)
Be sure you're communicating the proper message. Why -> How -> What. Don't just talk about the WHATs and forget the WHYs completely.
Chapter Nine - Know WHY. Know HOW. Then WHAT
The Golden Cone sits atop the Market. The WHY must be communicated to the People through the WHAT (marketing, branding, customer service, company culture, etc.)
If the WHY/HOW is the Limbic system of the brain, the leaders must represent that. The WHAT is represented by front-line workers. This means that there is a cohesion required from the front lines to the top, or the WHY will be impossible to communicate to the right people once the leader is no longer directly communicating with them. This is done via symbols, as it cannot be clearly communicated ("Why do you love your wife?"
crickets
...but you DO)
Apple's "1984 Commercial"
Chapter Ten - Communication is Not About Speaking, but Listening
The Celery Test
You get advice from many, well-meaning people. "M+Ms are in! Oreos are in! Celery is in! Rice Milk is in!"
You go to the store, looking to purchase all of these things...but why? What is the WHY? If your WHY is to promote health, it becomes obvious which to buy (and doing so will make your WHY obvious to others.
Once the filter is introduced, the correct choice becomes obvious and the decisions become easy
Harley Davidson as a symbol - people get Harley tattoos who have never owned one, 12% of their sales are merchandise. They promote a WHY. Clearly. Consistently. Apple is similar. So is Disney
VW and the creation of a Luxury car - this was a bad choice, it went against their perceived WHY. Toyota did it, but created a separate brand to do so.
Part Five - The Biggest Challenge is Success
Chapter Eleven - When WHY Goes Fuzzy?
Wal-Mart - as we achieve, the WHAT can have a tendency to split from the WHY. Especially after successions.
Achievement vs. Success
Achievement is attaining the WHAT - the yacht, the big house, the Fortune 1000 status
Success is attaining the WHY - I have achieved my
purpose
, not just the tangibles. I feel fulfilled by what I have accomplished
Chapter Twelve - Split Happens
The Bus Test - will your company survive if you get hit by a bus?
Is the WHY ingrained in the company culture? Do your WHATS match your WHY? Do you pass the celery test? Or does success cause you to obsess over the WHATs and HOWs? Losing sight of WHY kills businesses.
Wal-Mart - Sam Wald had a WHY, subsequent CEOs focused on the WHAT. "Serve the people by offering low prices" became "offer low prices, fuck whoever it hurts"
What gets measured, gets done - so be sure you're not only measuring the WHAT, but also find a way to measure the WHY
Part Six - Discover WHY
Chapter Thirteen - The Origins of a WHY
To fire an arrow, one must first draw back the string - this is akin to business (or anything, really). First, look the other way - at the WHY.
Simon's struggles with his own entrepreneurial adventures happened because he lost track of his WHY. He had success, but felt awful because his WHAT and WHY didn't match.
Chapter Fourteen - The New Competition
...is with YOURSELF. When you compete with everyone, nobody wants to help you. When you compete with yourself, everyone does.
WHY? To become better than I was yesterday. To end the day better than I began it. To improve just that 1%.
Afterword
The shipwreck analogy - people panic, one leader steps up and starts the group brainstorming, while another leader heads towards a village that only he saw. Who do you follow?
Leaders need two things...
a vision
the ability to communicate it