Start with WHY..

Simon says…

In his book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action Simon Sinek talks about what separates APPLEs from the TIVOs of this world, and why it is important to start with the purpose behind what you do. 

Looking at it from another angle, they are the vision, mission, and plan. Here is my very simple and minimalistic definition:

• Vision is WHAT we want to become. It is the Destination. It is WHERE we want to get. 
• Mission is WHY we want to become that entity, it is the reason why we are on that journey.
• Plan is the vehicle that gets us there. It is HOW we intend to get to our destination. 

As @simonsinek says, we often start with the outer layer going in. Most of us are focused on showing the product (WHAT), without connecting with the audience on emotional level with our WHY. 

WHY is the soul of any product, any organization. Trying to sell the product without clear WHY is like selling hollow product(s) without any ‘soul’ in it.

            People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.

On the other hand, starting with WHY, you are connecting with the audience on an emotional level, on a much deeper level. As Simon indicated in the video, you buy with your heart, and then rationalize your purchase with your mind. You got to have a cause before you create a product and (try to) sell it. Start with the inner circle, start with WHY and everything else will fall in the right places. 

Case in point from the recent history, look at Tesla. Mr. Musk sold the WHY to us, simple. The company spends very little, next to nothing in the advertising money. Instead, people have bought into the WHY of Mr. Musk, and the companies he is leading. 

Start with the mission and then build products around it, products that help you satisfy your mission.