Everyone knows what they do. Some know how they do it. Very few know why they do it. Why as in not to get paid everyday but deeper then that. What is their cause? Why do they get out of bed every morning?
The quote above is from the author, TEDster and consultant Simon Sinek who stumbled on the power of "Why?" about four years ago when his startup was getting amazing traction but he did not have much passion for it. He noticed he did not have a good answer for 'Why' he was doing what he was doing.
Most of us tell others what our product does, how it does it and expect others to buy our product. This does not work. What Simon has learned is that every inspiring leader from Martin Luther King to companies like Apple talk, think and communicate the same way (completely opposite to everyone else). They start with 'Why'. I absolutely love this example below in which Simon points out how Apple focuses on 'Why'.
If Apple were like most companies here is how they'd communicate: What? We make great computers. How? They are beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly.
Here is how Apple actually communicates: Why? Everything we do we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. How? The way we challenge status quo is by making our products beautifully designed simple to use, and user friendly. What? We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?
So few of us address the question of 'Why' even though it's responsible for our customers taking action. We tell people what we do and how we do it and expect them to act. It doesn't work like that in real world. You've got to answer 'Why' first. I love to think about the 'Why' as we develop the story behind our own products and initiatives here at ZURB. Below is Simon's famous TED talk about the power Why. Enjoy.