When most organizations or people think, act, or communicate they start with WHAT they want or WHAT they are selling. In order to create a lasting brand, however, or in order to become an inspiring figure to others, it is more important to start with WHY you do what you do. Your WHAT may be more clear and tangible, but your WHY is philosophical in nature and is rooted deeper in the emotional center of your brain. Ideas motivate people to action more than physical things or potential results.
In his insightful book, our author offers a few examples of companies and people who led with strong WHYs, including Apple and Microsoft (built by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates respectively) and Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, who built political coalitions in order to create change. All of these men were able to change the world in radical ways, either via technology or politics, because of their strong beliefs in WHY they were doing what they were doing. Steve Jobs wanted to buck the system and empower the individual, as we see with the personal ‘i’ that precedes all of Apple’s product names. Bill Gates wanted to put a personal computer in every home and grant people the same power that only large corporations had at the time. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in a society where everybody was treated equal.
Politicians with a weak sense of WHY must promise all they can in order to get as many votes as possible. ‘When I’m elected, I will pass A, B, and C legislation’ is a message we are used to hearing from people running for public office. Politicians who know WHY they are running for election don’t worry about their competition, they simply shout their message out at every chance they get and hope to inspire people to vote for them. Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t need to convince people to follow him; people following him across that bridge in Selma because they wanted to, because they believed in his WHY.
In order to truly inspire people to follow you, whether you are a politician or an entrepreneur starting a company, it is paramount to establish WHY you do what you do. “Knowing your WHY is not the only way to be successful, but it is the only way to maintain a lasting success and have a greater blend of innovation and flexibility.” There are plenty of companies that sell computers, but why do we buy Apple computers? Because we believe in their rebellious spirit, first embodied by Steve Jobs and instilled within the ethos of his company.
When you know WHY you do what you do, then you never have to worry about comparing yourself to others. Apple doesn’t come out with cheaper and sleeker products in order to beat their competition, they have a company ethos that creates loyalty. Their customers buy from them because they want to, because they believe in Apple’s WHY. When you only know WHAT you do, then you have to constantly be aware of what others are doing in order to continue trying to capture as much of the market as possible. Too often, companies try to lure customers in with WHAT their product is or HOW they intend to improve your life. This is backward; we must always start with WHY we do things, then proceed from this center of focus outwards to HOW we are going to share our WHY with the world, and then again one more layer outwards to WHAT we are ultimately going to sell. When you know WHY you do what you do, you only have to stay true to yourself.