Few leadership concepts have gained more traction in the past decade than Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” and the Golden Circle with What/How/Why as its three levels. “Start with Why” is in many ways a brilliant concept. But quite often not for brands.
The model is simple. For those who, against all odds, still haven’t encountered it, the model is built on shifting the focus from What (you do) and How (you do it) to Why (you do it). Sinek’s model takes 15 seconds to learn. In addition, Sinek is an excellent speaker, and his TED Talk includes several good and concrete examples, including Apple and the Wright brothers.
Unfortunately, there are some problems with his model. The first is that it is originally a model for personal leadership, but it has since been transferred into a variety of other contexts without having the same relevance there – especially not for brands.
At the same time, there are branding areas where the model is relevant. Primarily if the brand project involves recruitment and internal motivation. There are plenty of studies showing that we prefer to work for companies we are proud of and feel aligned with. But for many product and service brands, the “Start with Why” model has two fundamental problems:
1. It assumes that we reward brands with strong purposes in our purchase decisions
It is true that there are studies that seem to show that a brand’s purpose is becoming more important. The problem is that these studies tend to be based on what people SAY, not what they DO. And on top of that, purpose-driven marketing assumes that we like to identify with brands and want to have a closer relationship with them, which is also not true in most cases. I buy more because of the purpose is normally what’s called a “false driver.” We say these things are important, but we do not behave in accordance with what we say. Read more about this in the posts about the Brand Potential Study.
2. It is built on the wrong perspective
Sinek’s model is based on the first-person perspective: what WE do, how WE do it, and why WE do it. Remember that a brand is something defined by the customer, because it is their interpretation that determines what is relevant and attractive. Therefore, if we are going to define What/How/Why from a brand perspective, it becomes far more relevant to change the order as the summary below shows.
| Sinek’s introverted model | A better model for brands |
| What (do we make/produce/deliver)? | Why should I, as a potential buyer, care about you and what you offer? |
| How (do we do what we do)? | How (do you do what you do)? |
| Why (do we do what we do)? | What added value do I get from what you do (in terms of practical benefit and/or emotional experiences, positive feelings, etc.)? |
Of course you can start with “Why?” and still make a difference and succeed. But only as long as your “Why?” is about the customer’s perspective – why they should choose you, and why they will like that choice.
Do you want to know more about how to build a truly strong brand, just reach out to ulf@sfinxconsulting.se
