Conventional wisdom holds that all businesses start at the same place: with a product, something to be sold. This is what Simon Sinek, in his TED Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” refers to as the “What.” Once a business has figured out what they plan to sell, they move to the second step: the “How.” What are the requirements to create the product vacuum cleaner for pet reviews ?
Most companies never reach the third step: the “Why.” According to conventional business wisdom, this step is spurious—wishy-washy feel-good nonsense at best and distracting at worst. But Sinek claims that the most successful companies are those that start with Why. With a strong sense of why you do what you do, What and How will flow naturally.
Take Sinek’s example of Apple and Dell. Apple and Dell both sell personal computers. They both have similar manufacturing processes involving silicon chips and LCD screens. So why does buying a phone from Apple seem perfectly normal, yet the idea of a Dell phone is laughable?
The answer is simple. Dell sells computers. Apple sells an idea, a user experience, an identity. Apple sells a Why, not a What or a How. Sinek puts it beautifully:
“We believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”
As Sinek says, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Which begs the question: why does ZDCA do what we do?
We do what we do because every good idea for a business deserves the best possible chance at success, and the services that we offer (branding, web design, and marketing) are critical to catalyzing that success. Yes, we can create a beautiful brand or a clean, professional website, but those are means to an end, tools with which to actualize your success. We don’t just sell graphic design—we help our clients realize their dreams.
Your business undoubtedly knows what it does, and has a very good grasp on how you do it. But do you know why you do what you do? At ZDCA, we can help you discover, explore, and convey your Why. Give us a call or shoot us an email and we can help you reshape your brand into one that communicates the Why, as well as the What and How, of what you offer. Because as Sinek says, people don’t buy what you do—they buy why you do it.