“People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.” – Simon Sinek
Another book that changed my life is a book called “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek. I actually first heard about Simon when he gave the opening keynote speech at a conference I was attending for MPI. Simon is a thought leader. A Visionary. He works to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. One of the things he said in his keynote that changed the way I think is …. “People didn’t follow Martin Luther King because he had a PLAN. People followed Martin Luther King because he had a DREAM.” Boom! I love that! SOOO many times we have meeting after meeting to discuss the plan to get more business, the plan attract more customers, the plan recruit more members. This won’t work. You must start from the inside out. Instead have meetings about WHY your doing something? About WHY should someone sign up, become a customer, buy from you? Great leaders and organizations inspire people to act. Simon says that “those who TRULY lead are able to create a following of people who act not because they were swayed, but because they were inspired.” And it all starts with why. Remember: People rally behind WHY you do something. Not WHAT you do. A great example from Simon Sinek’s Book … is about Apple. Simon says … If Apple were like everyone else … and started with WHAT they do … their marketing might sound like this: “We make great computers. They’re beautifully designed, simple to use and user-friendly. Wanna buy one?” But since Apple is not like everyone else, and because they start with WHY … here is what their actual marketing message is: “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo.
We being in thinking differently.
The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and
user-friendly.
And we happen to make great computers.
Wanna buy one?”
It’s a completely different message. It actually FEELS different than the first one.
The idea here is to get you thinking about your business, your company, your brand.
How can you use this concept and grow your business, create unparalleled loyalty and stand out in a very crowded world.
You can learn more right now … check out Simon’s 18 minute TED talk here: (grab your lunch and watch … it’s gooood!)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4[/youtube]
In the meantime … Here are some critical questions to ask yourself when working to define the why for your company, your organization or for your personal brand:
- What’s your purpose?
- What’s your cause?
- What’s your belief?
- Why do you get out of bed in the morning?
- Why should anyone care?
How will you take the concept of “why” back to your personal and work life?
Be Well. Be Inspired!
Judi
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