The Why of it All

byessengy6903

162 followers

8 years ago

The Why of It All

If you’ve been on You Tube lately, you may have come across Simon Sinek talking about the Why of your business. The idea of coming up with a Why is profound but, it is nothing new. It’s been around since the 1980’s.

There have been many definitions of the Why. Some call it business philosophy, others call it core values. The most popular definition is mission statement. Some even confuse mission statement with vision statement. Some simply integrate vision and mission.The thing is, if you know your purpose, you have your Why.

Sinek is right in saying that telling your customers what you believe, and who you are differentiates you from those who simply sell their products without even knowing why they do it. He insists that you should begin with a Why. And, he is right.

Many mission statements begin with core values. Core values define your charism. Your charism is what makes you unique. For example, from all the millions of online businesses on the web, what makes you different and why should people buy from you?

Your charism essentially dictates your Why. In fact, your unique charism should impel you towards your mission. It’s like, if you have a perfect sense of symmetry and balance, unconsciously you will have the urge to paint. Or, if you have a gift of speech, it’s more than likely you will become an inspirational speaker.

I’ve known people who answered the call of mission very late in life. Doctors who became singers. Engineers who became priests. Priests who left the priesthood and raised a family. Why? It’s because you cannot deny who you are. Charism is an inherent gift.

So, what has it got to do with going into business? While the transition maybe hard, what your business is, eventually becomes who you are. Your core values will be infused into and become integrated with how you conduct your business. Who you are and what you stand for are translated into how you deal with your customers and how you do business with them.

So, the mission answers the raison-de-etre’ – the why of your existence. And that Why, is simply the urge to satisfy the need to know who you are.

Let me share you a real story that happened sometime in the early nineties, back from where I came. A group of sugar cane producers who owned a sugar central had for many years been producing refined sugar that was exported to other countries.

Their families have owned their sugar plantations for generations and grew up with the sugar cane culture ingrained in their genes. So, what they were doing was absolutely consistent with who they were – sugar cane producers.

Then, sometime in the late 80’s they began diversifying into fish canning. A little bit off the mark but still workable. The corporate planning group simply did a little rework of their corporate philosophy from producing world-class quality refined sugar to world-class quality food. Sugar and fish are both food. The philosophy was now to produce quality food, from produce quality refined sugar. Oh, yes, the canned sardines were exported too. World class.

Then, some wise guy in the engineering department came up with the idea of going into construction. They have all the brains. Civil engineers, mechanical engineers – people who work in the mill. The engineers have clout because it was they who actually run the show in the sugar mill.

So, the top brass decided to go into the construction business, and poured millions into it. They went into construction full blast; roads, bridges, buildings. The company even built the gym of the university from where I graduated. The venture collapsed. Hundreds of millions were lost. Why?

The thing with mission is that you have to be true to it. You have to be true to your calling. It’s like a screw driver. You use it to drive screws right? But some people used it as a cold chisel. The screw driver handle won’t be able to withstand the hammering. It will be damaged severely. The same thing with mission. It cannot be misused.

So, you will have noticed the disparity between food and construction. Going into the construction business was a misuse of the Why. Even if they try to rework the mission it would be a hit or miss because the owners know next to nothing about construction. It was not in their blood, so to speak.