“Why” instead of “What”: Be more successful in what you do by simply starting with “why” instead of “what”

There has to be a reason or a purpose why you do what you do, because otherwise you wouldn’t do it. You can find it and explain it to others to inspire them or to convince them of something by a simple but effective method – start the explanation with a “why” instead of a “what”.

• The golden circle is a concept by Simon Sinek, which supports people and organizations to be more successful by starting with their whys. At the moment most of them start with the “what”, then get sometimes to the “how”, and get, in very few cases, to the “why”.
• The problem is many people and organizations don’t really know why they do what they do. In order to find their whys they have to gain a deeper perspective in what really drives them.

Simon Sinek inspired with his book and TED-talk “Start with why” millions of people, by giving them answers to the questions: “Why are some people and organizations more inventive, pioneering, and successful than others?” and “Why are they able to repeat their success again and again?”. In his book he clarifies that it does not matter what you do, it matters why you do it. His observations and conclusions form the “golden circle”.

One of the most explicit examples is Apple. Apple once started as a computer company but now the company sells Smartphones, tablet computers, portable media players, smartwatches, a TV media player and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites. This leap in the range of products haven’t managed many other companies, even though it is quite easy to create the base – but that is also where most of the companies fail.

The base is to sell the “why” instead of the “what” and that is what the golden circle is all about.

In the center is the circle “why”, which is surrounded by the “how”, and the “how” is again surrounded by the “what”. “What” is a description of what a person or organization does – it should be normally known by everyone. “How” explains how they do the “what”, e.g. their unique selling points. “Why” is the true purpose, cause, or believe, like why does an organization even exist. To convince someone in doing something and to get to the bottom of the cause, it is essential to tell something from the inside out.

BUT: Most of the people start from the outside with the “what” and therefore, never get to the “why”. By starting with the “what” many people stop listening. Others don’t want to get to know the “what” or “how” before they know the “why”. This fact can be transferred on every situation, e.g. great leaders, the marketing of products, the choice of employment or the own behavior in some situations.

People don’t buy what you do – they buy why you do it.

Normally, you don’t do business with anybody who needs what you have but with people who believe what you believe. A good example for this is the hiring process of a company. It is important to hire people with the same values the organization has – not only with the right skills for the position. As a result, those employees do not only work in the company for the money, they work for the company because they believe in it.

Another simple example how Sinek’s principles and the golden circle work is the comparison between a teacher and a mentor. During school many teacher try to force their students to read books. But to get the students to read them, they always start with the “what”. They argue that their students have to read the books, because they are classics and everybody has to read them. Afterwards they normally tell their students how to read them as a basic guideline to get the contents right. But as soon as it gets to the “why”, many teachers fail. That comes from the fact that also many teachers start from the outside of the golden circle and in most cases they haven’t even thought about the why. But that is a mistake!

Many people and organizations don’t really know WHY they do what they do.

But how are mentors differentiated from the teachers? Mentors usually have achieved things in life which are also interesting for one selves. This can be either in their work, or private life. Therefore, mentors can argue that if their mentees do something it is more probable for them to get closer to what they achieved. The mentors arguments always start with the why, thus with the inside of the golden circle. For example: “Do you want to get powerful relationships instead getting your emails ignored?” (why), “Pick up a book” (how), and afterwards they can easily sell their “what” with an explicit book recommendation. The student or mentee is now more likely to read the book, because he understands how it will help them to develop themselves, both personally and professional.

It is not always easy to find your “why”, it is more like a challenge – but it is definitely worth it.

Probably many people think, the most common and obvious answer for their “why’s” is money. But money is rather a goal than a thing that actually drives us. “Why” goes much deeper in what motivates and inspires us. A goal is more like a milestone and what you want to achieve within your business or your life. Once a goal is set, it can be achieved, and afterwards you would set another goal. As already written, the “why” is the purpose, cause, or believe that actually drives every organization and person – and therefore, will last for a lifetime.

Simon Sinek gives his readers many guidelines to help them find their whys in his book “find your why”. One of them is the formula “TO ____(contribution) SO THAT ____(impact)”. Sinek expresses his own why in these words: “To inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, we can change our world”. This guideline may sound easy but it is a developing process and you will need some time to really find the contribution and impact that drives you. Helpful is to start to question yourself for what purpose you work in your position, what is important about it, what is important for yourself, and why it is important for yourself. Afterwards try to find the matching points and similarities to get to the bottom. It also helps to pause from time to time the thinking and developing process in order to gain a new perspective through distance.

Once you have found your why and start your explanations and thoughts with the “why” instead of the “what” you will realize a slightly but important change in your life. What is your “why”?