Start with why – Simon Sinek – Review
One of the most engaging books I have read
till date, goes to show how much the attention of the audience can be grabbed
when there is a clear sense of why. Simon Sinek’s premise of the entire book is
to have a consistent long-term purpose towards business initiatives, which is
what he has repeatedly been calling out as start with why. The fulcrum of the
narrative is to start an engagement with a strong sense of why while the how
and what aspect should emerge as a tangible proof of what the organization
believes in, which is coined as the golden circle.
About nine days later, away from all the attention, two bicycle salesmen
named Orville and Wilbur Wright with $1,000 of investment launched an aircraft
that flew over 40 miles in a remote village called Kitty Hawk. Langley was well
equipped in terms of education, funding, top-notch talent, press coverage and
government support yet he failed miserably. But a couple of unrecognized
individuals with a long list of disadvantages overcome the odds and gained
success. The reason points to what the individuals were chasing, while the
Wright brothers were curious to find the answer on flight dynamics and an
intent to break conventional belief, Langley longed for celebrity status, in
short only the Wright brothers started with why.
When an organization starts with why, the positioning of the product
also has a huge difference. Let’s take the example of Creative technology ltd,
inventor of portable multiple gigabyte hard drive music player which was
advertised as ‘5GB mp3 player’, it’s clear as to what the company manufactured.
About 2 years later, Apple came up with iPod and advertised the similar product
as ‘1000 songs in your pocket’, in this case why has been advertised
effectively which eventually led Apple into leadership position surpassing even
the first mover advantage of their competitor.
When the purpose is strongly defined which is consistently aligned in
how and what an organization does then loyalty is entrenched to an extent
wherein people tattoo company logos on their body. Such acts are insane but we
can find a large section of people who tattoo Harley-Davidson logo on their
arms, legs or any part of the body. After decades of consistently aligning with
the golden circle, Harley-Davidson is now a belief and less of a logo. The
company earns 4.5 billion USD in revenue out of which 12% is through sales of
merchandize which reflects remarkable loyalty.
Christina Harbridge had an interesting take towards debt collection
which acted as the foundation of why she set up Bridgeport financial, a debt
collection agency. When she joined the industry in her early twenties, the
rough and threatening conversations of all the agents got her worried, the
human connection was totally missing across all the debt collection agencies.
In 1994, Christina set up her own debt collection agency named Bridgeport
financials, over here the agents are rewarded for the number of thank you cards
sent by them and not collection amount. It was 180-degree shift in attitude of
the agents and they were expected to act with compassion towards debtors. The
result was that Bridgeport’s collection scored 3X higher than industry
average.
Simon’s fundamental point is an earnest, honest and consistent approach
with an unwavering sense of purpose towards why an organization came into
existence in first place. Becoming an undisputed market leader with a loyal
customer base will prove to be a definite outcome.
Must read!
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