Finding The Why Behind Your Company-Travis Ogden
Travis Ogden is a C-level executive at Young Living Essential Oils in Lehi, Utah. He's been there since February 2012 and has witnessed a miraculous change in the way the company does business. While Young Living has sustained 8-10% growth for the last decade or so, nothing could prepare them for 2013 when they grew 35%. They followed that up in 2014, growing 130%. In fact, they grew more dollar for dollar in 2014 than in the previous 19 years combined! How? They found the why behind their company and funneled all business operations into that framework.
Wait a minute. Isn't the why behind every company to make money? While profit has to be considered, gains and losses are only a subset of your company's greater purpose. A powerful why statement defines what you will do better than anyone else in the market and should cement in customer's minds the unique value you provide them. The type of why I'm referring to directly impacts your eternal branding strategy and what your company will be know for ten years down the road.
What's the why behind Young Living? What differentiates them from DoTerra? From essential oils at Walmart? To discover the why, current management looked to the company's founder, D. Gary Young. While Young is an avid entrepreneur, his love for farming sets him apart in the industry. Yes, I said farming. He dedicated years of his life learning about essential oils overseas and what produces the best product. This man has more passion for his farms than anyone else in the company. In fact, he'll fill entire blog posts talking about oil extraction chambers, boiler problems, and farm-land negotiations.
In 2012, management connected the dots between Young's vision and the company's overall purpose. What were they going to do better than anyone else in the industry? In Travis' own words, "The goal of Young Living is to create the purist, highest quality essential oils on the market." Take a whiff of their peppermint oil and you'll find only one thing: peppermint. No chemicals. No preservatives. Everything is grown from company owned and managed farms or farms under their proprietary seed-to-seal process. Identifying the why behind their company has allowed them to position themselves at the top of a very competitive MLM marketplace.
It caused to me to ponder, what is the why behind Ardivio Tech? Do we represent a product or a company? After some contemplation, I realized that the why behind Ardivio Tech is clear: our goal is to create the simplest technologies for life's problems. After seeing our products, we want customers to think, "Seriously? That's so simple. Why didn't I think of that?" Our products will integrate seamlessly with the natural flow of life.
Our new-found why will begin to affect everything we do at Ardivio Tech. Innovation will occur within that framework. Advertising will reflect that lifestyle. Our Kickstarter campaign will emphasize that story.
Simply said, finding the why behind your company will illuminate the what, when, how, and who behind your business plan.
"People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it." Simon Sinek