This article is based on the book ‘Start With Why’ by Simon Sinek.

“People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.”

This year I have embarked on a journey of reading broadly.  Reading not just business-related books, which is what I have been reading the past few years, but to read all kinds of materials and genres from fiction, autobiographies, articles you name it.  This is to get myself into reading as a habit, and to improve my general knowledge and stretch myself.

I’ve recently just completed the book ‘Start With Why’ by Simon Sinek, and I decided that such knowledge was just too great for me not to share. My reasons behind sharing my thoughts and review about this book are based solely on my understanding that this book could greatly benefit anyone who seeks to develop a brand – whether a product or service brand, or a personal brand in order to become a digital entrepreneur or influencer – that they want to be successful but also to live a passion-driven life.

I absolutely love this book for the fact that it draws on examples we know to prove its point of why it is important to start with WHY. There are several brands mentioned in this book and their journey towards becoming highly successful brands or brands that are struggling in the market at the moment. As you could probably guess by now, the Simon Sinek argues that the focal point of any successful business comes from looking at the ‘WHY’ more than the ‘HOW’ and the ‘WHAT’. ‘WHY’ is what differentiates brands.

If you just think about it for a moment, when you ask anyone to “tell you more about their brand or business” what they usually explain is what the brand does right? “Well, we create premium hair and body care products, our products help your hair grow because of the ingredients we use that accelerate hair growth…” etc. This is how brands have been selling themselves to would-be consumers for decades if not centuries, by telling us what their brand does, how it does it better even going as far as manipulating us.

Starting with ‘WHY’ is different, and it is a concept, which has been adopted by many leaders and brands, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Apple and many other brands that follow. Instead of sharing ‘what’ it is that they do, they focus on the ‘why’ they do what they do, and this is the reason those brands have been able to have longevity and popularity for many recurring years.

Chapter 5 of the book focuses on Clarity, Discipline and Consistency.  It all starts with clarity, the clarity of WHY. He goes on to say that we all know WHAT we do, and if people don’t buy WHAT we do, they will definitely buy WHY we do it. Therefore, if we don’t know WHY we do WHAT we do, how will anyone else? Basically, if the aim is to inspire others, there has to be the clarity of WHY.

It’s easy to answer HOW you do what you do when you know WHY you do it. In the simplest sense, HOW holds the process, values and principles that will guide how we bring our product or service to life. It’s important to understand how we do things, as well as having the discipline to hold our employees accountable to those guiding principles enhances any organization’s ability to work at its natural strength. Lastly, understanding the HOW of your organization will give you greater ability when it comes to instances of hiring people or even finding the right partners who will naturally thrive when working with you.

The WHAT is about understanding that everything you say and everything you do has to prove what you believe. Sinek explains that a WHY is just a belief, HOW are actions that you take to realize those actions and WHATs are the result of those actions – everything you say and do: your products, services, marketing, PR, culture and whom you hire. Again, if people don’t buy what you do, they will buy why you do it, therefore you can see why all of these things have to be consistent. The key understanding from the consistency of WHAT that was derived was that with consistency, people will see and hear without a shadow of doubt, what you believe.

He further elaborates that after all of the above are in place, there is specific order in which they have take; it’s the final step known as the right order. For example, when marketing your product or service, he actually gave an example using one of Apple’s marketing campaigns, that they were so consistent with the order and that order of marketing always began with the WHY.

Yes, WHAT is important, only so as far as it being the tangible proof of the WHY. However, WHY always comes first as it provides the context for everything else. If you could look up any of Apple’s marketing projects or campaigns, it is always at the start of the ad that they will give you an inside depth of WHY a particular product was introduced or even innovated to life. It is the WHY that is first communicated followed by the HOW then the WHAT. Because we are able to see what is presented to us and with a bit more information fully grasp all that it is and what it can do, this is the same with any product.

But how then do you convince a prospective client beyond that? Your product/service has to ‘hit home’, giving a resonance, familiarity and belonging. Apple has been the master of this for decades, and how insane is it to think that once a client buys an Apple product, they almost never switch to any other brand, because they can see themselves within the brand almost as if they were part of the creating process. Even the people that work for Apple love working there, it gives them a sense of feeling as if they are part of a new world changing project or order and it simply because the WHY speaks to all of them.

So WHY do you do you do what you do?

Check out these YouTube videos to hear Simon Sinek speak on ‘WHY’