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WHY SIMON SINEK IS FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG

Author: Dominic Monkhouse



Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have heard of author Simon Sinek. He took the business world by storm in 2009 with his lecture, How Great Leaders Inspire Action. This became the 3rd most-watched TED talk of all time. In it, he unveiled his ‘Golden Circle’ with ‘Why’ at its heart. I recommend you read Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Sinek’s book became a best-seller, and his views were widely accepted by companies across the globe on a why journey. An obsession with ‘Purpose’ began. Leaders Eat Last wasn’t universally admired, but he is back on form with his latest book, The Infinite GameHow Great Businesses Achieve Long-lasting Success was published in 2019, and in it, he applies game theory to explore how exceptional businesses achieve lasting success.

Great leaders inspire

The idea that businesses that have a clear sense of purpose are more likely to experience rapid growth is now widely accepted. Other writers, such as David Hieatt, have expanded on this idea in their works, including his book ‘Do Purpose – Why Brands with a Purpose Do Better and Matter More’, and his interview on The Melting Pot podcast. I believe in the significance of purpose in shaping the culture of a business and have observed how it can transform a company. I have previously written about how business leaders can identify their core purpose and use it as a guiding force. Simon La Fosse, another guest on a podcast I host, founded La Fosse Associates, a recruitment firm with a clear purpose: that treating people well is not only the right thing to do, but it also leads to better business outcomes. In our conversation, Simon discussed the ups and downs of his journey, including the previous year’s loss of half their revenue in the tech sector, where they specialize. He also explained why he stepped down as CEO and how he doesn’t consider himself a natural leader. Simon is humble and very much a leaders eat last founder.

What’s the thrust of Simon Sinek’s message?

Simon Sinek sets out to discover why companies like Apple achieved such extraordinary success while others with the same resources failed.  He found that less successful companies often started with ‘What’, then moved to ‘How’, and many neglected to even mention ‘Why’. Some hadn’t the faintest clue why they did what they did. There is a compelling video from Simon covering this issue Most Leaders Don’t Even Know the Game They’re In | Simon Sinek

    Golden Circle with Simon Sinek

    So what is a ‘why statement’? According to Sinek, it is:

    “The compelling higher purpose that inspires us and acts as the source of all we do.”

    In Sinek’s Ted Talk, he suggests the reason Apple was so successful was it started with ‘Why’.  This was at the core of Apple’s marketing (pardon the pun!) and the driving force behind its operations. As a result, he argues, Apple was able to attract customers who shared its core beliefs and values.

    From this, he designed his ‘Golden Circle’ theory of building strategy.

    Simon Sinek Golden Circle

    The Golden Circle by Simon Sinekread start with why: how great leaders inspire everyone to take action

    Simon Sinek criticism is well and good, but I think there’s something missing from the golden circle. Apple dominates the global handset market by capturing 66% of industry profits and 32% of the overall handset revenue. But crucially, they weren’t trying to sell a smartphone to everyone. They are targeting a unique value proposition to a tight group of customers for whom the Apple ecosystem is part of their self-worth and their projection into the world.

    When Steve Jobs returned and created the world-famous ‘Think Different” campaign, Apple products were not the best. In fact, they were a bit sh*t. But Apple had identified a sub-set of people – creatives, misfits, dreamers – for whom owning a Mac said something about the sort of off-the-wall people they wanted to be. To my mind, this proves that you can’t have a ‘why’ unless you know ‘who’ your ‘why’ will appeal to.

    So, where I disagree fundamentally with Simon Sinek is his central message of ‘start with why’. I don’t believe this isn’t where you should start at all.

    Start with ‘Who’ not ‘Why’

    Surely your over-arching goal is to build a successful commercial enterprise? Well, I don’t think you can do this starting with ‘Why’. Contrast Simon Sinek’s view of strategy with that of Jim Collins – another great author and motivational speaker. His Hedgehog Concept is something I often refer to with clients. He believes that a successful strategy is formed from overlapping 1) What you are deeply passionate about (your ‘Why’) with 2) what you can be best at in the world and 3) what best drives your economic engine. It’s this third point that’s missing from Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle viewpoint. The commercial imperative that should drive every business.

    The Hedgehog Concept - Jim Collins

    Finding your ‘Who’

    Ultimately, you’re trying to create a tribe that loves what you do and feels like they belong when they experience your company for the first time. I believe this should start with your staff. First and foremost, do your employees feel like they’re in the right place? And then, do your existing customers feel happy they made the right choice by picking your company? Only after you’ve got these two elements right will you attract new customers.

    This is a different way of approaching marketing. Too often, the focus is on attracting new people through the door and then, when they arrive, losing them because everything’s not quite in sync. Don’t build a recruitment process that attracts the wrong people. They’ll leave after a few months because your company is different from the expectation you created.

    To build a tribe of customers, you need to get laser-focused on who these people are. Your guiding principle should be, ‘Who are the customers that will buy from us at a maximum profit?’ Most of the time, companies don’t have this. Since they started trading, they’ve attracted many customers, all looking for different things. This makes it hard to narrow down to the Core Customer that will ultimately drive their growth.

    Core Customer

    When we get to the nitty-gritty of working out their Core Customer, I guide clients to focus first and foremost on the ones who buy at maximum profit. Perhaps these customers buy the fullest range of services or have the potential to do so. Then we narrow it down to one who best represents the customers they need to target. We give them a name. A recent example is ‘Andrew’. Then we start to profile this customer archetype – what is Andrew trying to do in his business? Does he have a transformational challenge? Maybe he’s an agent of change in his organisation? What insights tell his story? What is his background?

    Then I get them to work out how Andrew is likely to buy – and where they fit in this buying journey.  Finally, and most importantly, how do they want Andrew to feel when he signs on the dotted line? This is why you need to start with ‘Who’ before working out your ‘Why’. Otherwise, you lose the connection between how you want them to feel when they do business with you and your purpose. These need to interlock.

    Creating a niche

    target customer

    A massive lightbulb moment is when firms realise they only need to attract a small number of these Core Customers, maybe 10 or 20, to double their business in the next three years. Brilliant! In the past, their strategy has been focused on average customers. Now, they can tailor their brand and entire approach to the needs of a specific group of Core Customers.

    At Peer 1 Hosting, we had 13,400 customers globally, but only 500 were high-value. We worked out we only needed another 100 net annually to achieve our growth plans of doubling in three years. So, we got really focused on who they were and the value proposition they needed from us. This had far-reaching consequences – our core values and purpose were aligned around these needs. They guided every decision we made. We looked for staff and leadership who shared these values and could ensure our Core Customers knew, liked and trusted us.

    If you’re using NPS® (Net Promoter Score), you need to ensure your score is higher for your Core Customer than any of your competitors. This is about being different. You’re not trying to be brilliant for every customer or the biggest or the best. You’ve identified attributes for your business that you know your Core Customer values, and by delivering these, you’ll win. Hear from the founder of NPS, Fred Reichheld, on why NPS and referrals are how to grow your business in this episode of the podcast.

    This is how you create a niche.  By getting inside the heads of a small number of high-value customers, you’ll own this small segment. Eventually, you will become the number one supplier of your ‘Who’. It’s like mining for a rich vein of gold. Think small, not big, and use a feelings model to get there. This will be way more effective than constantly selling the features and benefits of your product.

    So, take my advice. Don’t ignore Simon Sinek entirely. BUT start with ‘Who’, not ‘Why’. By doing this, you’ll find a profitable purpose that drives the economic engine of your business. After all, you’re not just doing this for love. Profit is also important!

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    Written by business coach and CEO mentor Dominic Monkhouse, read more of his work here. Read his new book, Mind Your F**king Business here.

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