What would Batman be without Joker, or Wonder Woman without Doctor Psycho?
Your business can only be a super hero if you are fighting a super villain.
Are you familiar with Simon Sinek's three "Golden Circles" model of why, how and what?
It's great - but he missed the most important one.
His 2009 TEDx talk has been watched more than 55 million times, his books are best sellers. The advice of "start with why" has been adopted by many people in an attempt to describe some sort of company purpose.
Here's the thing, almost every company already has their "Why?" legally enshrined in their statutes of incorporation. It's usually very clear: to increase shareholder value. This is what drives the short term financial focus that we see all through the corporate world.
Being a profitable business for good requires long term thinking. The question each company needs to ask themselves is "What impact do we want to be forever recognised for?", and that doesn't start with "Why?".
When you start with "Why?" it's far too easy to put a purposeful sounding label around an ego-driven concept and go back to business as usual.
We can do better if we start by defining "Not This" as the fourth circle in Sinek's model. Like the bullseye of a dart board, bright red and right smack in the middle.
"Not this" is the thing that our business stands for. A big hairy goal to make the world better by ridding it of something bad. It gives us a North Star to guide our decisions and measure our progress against.
It's the thing that our team, customers and partners will rally around, and ultimately make us unforgettable.
I'm creating the book and podcast series for people who want their small or medium business to make more profit and better impact. Take a look and sign up: https://sixtyminutestoimpact.xyz
Your business can only be a super hero if you are fighting a super villain.
Are you familiar with Simon Sinek's three "Golden Circles" model of why, how and what?
It's great - but he missed the most important one.
His 2009 TEDx talk has been watched more than 55 million times, his books are best sellers. The advice of "start with why" has been adopted by many people in an attempt to describe some sort of company purpose.
Here's the thing, almost every company already has their "Why?" legally enshrined in their statutes of incorporation. It's usually very clear: to increase shareholder value. This is what drives the short term financial focus that we see all through the corporate world.
Being a profitable business for good requires long term thinking. The question each company needs to ask themselves is "What impact do we want to be forever recognised for?", and that doesn't start with "Why?".
When you start with "Why?" it's far too easy to put a purposeful sounding label around an ego-driven concept and go back to business as usual.
We can do better if we start by defining "Not This" as the fourth circle in Sinek's model. Like the bullseye of a dart board, bright red and right smack in the middle.
"Not this" is the thing that our business stands for. A big hairy goal to make the world better by ridding it of something bad. It gives us a North Star to guide our decisions and measure our progress against.
It's the thing that our team, customers and partners will rally around, and ultimately make us unforgettable.
I'm creating the book and podcast series for people who want their small or medium business to make more profit and better impact. Take a look and sign up: https://sixtyminutestoimpact.xyz