The Golden Circle

On October 23, 2001, Apple's iPod marked a pivotal moment in the music industry, reshaping the way we engage with music. It played a key role in transitioning us from a culture focused on collecting albums to one centered around individual songs. Prior to this breakthrough, listening to music was largely confined to the home setting, with portable options like the Sony Walkman requiring cumbersome cassette or CD collections to accompany the device. But now due to iPod, we could carry music along with us. Apple enjoyed first mover advantage without actually being the first mover.

The MP3 technology – digital compression for a very high-quality of songs on a relatively inexpensive and highly portable digital music devices was not invented by Apple. In fact, Apple did not even invent the technology that became iPod. It was creative labs that invented the technology in early 2000. But let’s look at how these two companies launch their breakthrough products with disruptive technologies through their press releases:

Creative Nomad:

The release front-loads the first paragraph with information about the company. Is it really relevant ? what you consumers have to do with it? The “news” that appears next is that “it has begun shipping” the device, to “selected retail and e-tail outlets,” no less. Again, what do I do with this information?

The next sentence tells me that the NOMAD II MG “features a unique professional lifestyle design offering MP3 support with reprogrammable firmware to support future digital audio formats, software extensions and standards.” The word music does not even appear here.

They advertised their product as a “5GB MP3 player”.

Now let’s look at the press release of Apple iPod:

The headline identifies the technical category (MP3) yet translates it into mainstream words (“Music Player”) anyone could understand. The “1,000 Songs in Your Pocket” is so apt at communicating the benefit to the customer. There is something about the use of the word “your” which directly tells that it is engineered for me.

According to Simon SINEK, the difference is creative lab told us what their product was and Apple told us why we needed it. The difference primarily lies in how these companies communicated. Creative Technology communicated what they sell versus Apple communicated why they sell. In his book, “ start with why” the writer introduces the concept of golden circle.

According to him, it provides an alternative perspective to existing assumptions about why some leaders and organizations have achieved disproportionate degree of influence. It is due to when companies, people, organizations communicate with why- the purpose to exist, why they get out of bed every morning, why anyone should care, etc., they enjoy significantly higher amount of loyalty, influence, commercial impact as compare to the companies which communicate with what- the products or services that they sell or how- the explanations for why their product or service is better.

He advocates the philosophy that people don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. Every marketers dream is to create an Apple. People believe that Apple sells lifestyle. Well, of course! It is true. Apple sells a philosophy which people want to adopt in their lifestyle, which people feel connected with. This is the primary reason why Apple has been able to sell a computer, a music player, a mobile phone under the same brand name while Dell, HP Lenovo only sell computers. Apple’s conspicuous belief to ‘think different’ and their ability to bring innovation to products, making them flawlessly simple to use- consequently, a proof of their purpose of the first place, only strengthens this philosophy. In other words, these products become proof of why they do the things they do.

A purpose is not something that you paste on a creative banner on your website. It is the reason why you exist. It is in your DNA, a mantra that you live by. To explore how simple Apple is, please read the book – Insanely Simple by Ken Segall. One interesting argument that Simon presents in the book is when a company’s Why is strong, the product quality takes a backseat. Apple’s iPad battery sucks but still I love it. There is no reason to why Volvo manufacturing team won’t have access to Ferraris’ engineers. There can never be an objective conversation between a Ferrari driver and a Volvo driver about which car is better. Similarly, Volvo driver wouldn’t care what colour its car is while Ferrari driver would pay a premium to get a colour of his choice. So, why the products exist must first established and why someone wants it must match.

Therefore, it is not a debate about better or worse anymore. It is a discussion about different needs. The concept of golden circle fascinates me. In my next article, we will explore it in detail. Stay tuned!