Want to change the world? Want to have your organization attract and retain the best and brightest, and be a place where you are creative, empowered, and inspired? Then start with “why”.

1. 

   If you want to motivate others, captivate, don’t manipulate. Most organizations use a carrot and stick approach to motivating their employees. While this works, there is a better way. Good leaders inspire others, inviting them to take action. Enthusiastic employees will bring personal resources to the table and sacrifice themselves to achieve the common goal without being prompted. They don’t act because of rewards or incentives, but because they recognize a deeper meaning in their actions. They feel their calling.

2. Use the Golden Circle – The Golden Circle is 3 concentric circles with WHY as the bullseye, HOW as the next circle, and WHAT as the outermost circle. WHAT describes the activities of your organization. HOW tells the way in which WHAT is achieved. WHY is the mission or purpose of your organization –why was it founded? What are its main goals? Incidentally, profits are a combination of WHAT and HOW – not a WHY.

3. Communicate the Golden Circle from the inside out. Focusing on the WHY connects your people at a deeper, more resilient level, and connects your organization with your customers and suppliers. It creates long-lasting loyalty. It creates an atmosphere in which your employees are truly excited. Because of this, organizations that continually focus on WHY are more stable.

4. Long-term success hinges on survival of the WHY. Focusing on the WHY helps the organization make decisions that promote the long term. Otherwise, they can drift themselves into short-term thinking, resulting in their eventual demise. This is why organizations frequently fail when the founder leaves.

5. Customer manipulation is counterproductive. Many businesses rely on manipulation to cause customers to buy, including limited time offers, social pressure (such as ads with movie stars), and announcements that don’t tell the whole truth. Yes, these tactics work for the short run. But they don’t create customer loyalty; instead, they create customers who can easily be lured away by the competition. Apple is an excellent example of non-manipulation – they have a fiercely devoted customer base.

These ideas are excerpted from Start with Why by Simon Sinek. Excellent reading!

Hope you’re having a great summer. Stay cool,

Gary Langenwalter