Starting from the “why”

Martina Brunetti - Marketing and Training

There is a theory that resonates in pretty much everything we do, it is called the Golden Circle and was presented by Simon Sinek during a TED talk in 2010 (if you are interested in learning more, you can watch the video at this link!).

In his speech, Sinek wonders why Apple is so innovative.
Year after year, he says, it is more and more innovative despite being a computer company just like so many others: it has the same talent, it has the same opportunities, it has the same agencies, the same consultants, and it uses the same media as all the others. So why does it seem to have something extra? Something different?

The Discovery

Sinek made a discovery that profoundly changed the way he sees things when it comes to marketing and communication. He found out that there is a model that guides all great leaders and all those organizations that have the ability to inspire people, creating loyal communities and, as a result, loyal customers. These leaders and organizations think, act and communicate following the same pattern, which is completely different from the one used by everyone else. It is called the Golden Circle.

The theory is this: all companies know what they do, some even know how they do it (we call it a value proposition, others call it a sales argument), but few know why they do what they do, what the purpose of what they do is, in short, the reason and the goal.

Why does the company exist? What does it believe in? Why do we get up in the morning and why are we willing to leave the house, travel kilometers, and be cooped up in the company for at least eight hours? And why should anyone care what we do?

The consequence of not having answers to these questions corresponds to the habit of communicating from the outside in. This is because it is much easier to talk immediately about what seems clearer to us and then address the topics that seem less in focus. Instead, leaders and organizations that succeed in inspiring people always start from the inside and only at the end address the topics that lie outside the golden circle.

Let's give a practical example

If Apple were a company like any other, it would probably use such a marketing message:

Question
"We produce fantastic computers. They are well designed and simple and intuitive to use. Would you like to buy one?"

Answer?
“Mhé”.

This is the way most firms communicate: they say what they do, sometimes they say how and almost never why. "This is our law firm, we have the best lawyers, do you want to be our client?". Or "These are our cars, they are fuel efficient and have leather seats, would you like to buy one?".

This is how Apple communicates.

Question
"In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in alternative thinking. We challenge the status quo by making well-designed, easy-to-use, and intuitive products, and then we make great computers. Would you like to buy one?"

A completely different story.

Come to think of it, they simply reversed the order of information, but the impact generated is completely different and shows that people do not buy what we do. People buy because we do what we do.

The reason is the value

When we tackle a new communication project, whether it is the development of a new identity, an editorial plan for social media or a website, we always start with the value and therefore the why.