“Your Why is Your What.”
When I heard those words from a mentor, the game definitely changed.
This evolved into the next question.
What is your mission?
If not, let’s dig in.
What is it exactly that you do?
What problem do you solve?
Do you make or distribute a product?
Provide a service?
To take it one step further, what is your why?
Why does your company exist?
Your Why is Your What.
When you clearly define your why, that certainly helps clarify your what and your Mission.
Mission Statement: What is Your Why?
This may be completely overplayed.
Sorry if this is not original or new to you but this is worth sharing especially if you are unfamiliar with this.
Simon Sinek delivered a fantastic Ted Talk on “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”.
If you have not watched it, please take a moment to watch:
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
It is definitely well worth the 18 minutes to join the tens of millions who have enjoyed this powerful message.
If you have already watched, now might be a great time to revisit and watch again.
In the Ted Talk, Simon discusses the Golden Circle which includes:
- The what?
- The how?
- Your why?
Sinek explores that the key ingredient to business success is not “What you do” or even “How you do it”.
The critical component is your “Why”.
Do You Have a Dream?
Simon provides several examples where great leaders do an amazing job explaining their “Why”.
He offers three examples with Apple, Dr. Martin Luther King and the Wright Brothers taking flight.
With considering the example of Martin Luther King, it is truly a phenomenon to consider.
In the digital age, getting a message out, joining a cause, or taking a public stand is relatively easy.
Join Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and you are part of like minded individuals who want to fight for a hot social issue.
However, how on earth was Dr. King able to rally 250,000 passionate individuals to Washington D.C. to stand up for equality and civil rights in 1963?
No cell phones or texting.
No Facebook or Twitter.
It is nearly unfathomable that he was able to organize that amount of people at one place, at one time prior to the digital age.
His “why” caught massive momentum.
He then delivered one of the greatest speeches in U.S. history.
Dr. King shared with the live audience and all of America his “I Have a Dream” speech.
One of the most powerful moments in American History.
Identifying Your Why
So what is your “dream”?
Additionally, what is your “why”?
Do you have a cause worth fighting for?
It doesn’t need to be as iconic as the three examples that Sinek provides.
Actually for 99.9% of us, it most likely won’t.
We are not all meant to be historical figures defying gravity to take flight, building a trillion dollar company, or able to peacefully rally millions to change society.
However, it’s all relative.
Maybe you are an incredible photographer able to capture the most precious moments for other individuals.
Otherwise, your gift is crunching numbers with the ability to provide the maximum tax return for cash strapped customers during tax season.
On the other hand, maybe you discovered a recipe to make a better burger.
Additionally, you provide a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere where customers laugh a little harder at your place.
They enjoy themselves a bit deeper.
Customers lose themselves by forgetting their problems and challenges.
Your why is that you allow customers to escape their stress for a couple hours when they walk in your door.
In other cases, maybe you are the community mechanic that people love to patron.
You are not only the best around but you also have established trust by delivering killer customer service that is unbeatable.
Maybe you have a unique talent styling hair making individuals feel amazingly beautiful when they walk out your door.
Regardless of the product or service, you are selling one thing and one thing only….
Trust! You are selling trust!
Basically, we are all selling trust.
In the case of a hair stylist, you sell the opportunity that your customers will feel more confident after you are done with them.
With that in mind, are you a hair stylist or are you a confidence builder?
Your customers are invincible when they leave your establishment.
This could be said the same for many if not most entrepreneurs.
As a consultant, coach, retailer, manufacturer, professional or service provider, you are also selling trust.
Additionally, your customers attach their comfort and confidence level to you and your business.
As an accountant, attorney, or financial planner you provide the confidence that your customer is better off each time they walk out your door (physically or virtually).
If you provide products as a retailer or even a manufacturers, for every transaction, you are selling a level of trust and confidence.
Not everyone is going to completely disrupt a market.
However, what if you completely disrupt your market?
Your city and your community.
Your industry.
With unapologetic superior service, people will love handing over their hard earned money to purchase your product or service.
So if you have never really thought about it before, take a deep dive into what is your “why”?
What is the cause that you are fighting for?
What is your mission?
Let’s dig into your mission.
You may not believe in mission statements or feel they are overrated.
However, here is something to consider.
Let’s go bare bones basic.
What is your elevator pitch?
You might say, wait I am not raising money.
I’m not going on Shark Tank or approaching venture capital, so why do I need an elevator pitch?
So, let’s pretend you were riding the elevator with a total stranger.
You offer each other pleasantries and as they are about to walk off you are asked the common question, “what do you do”?
What is your profession?
What problem do you solve?
How do you contribute constructively to society and make the world a better place?
Why do we want to know?
Are we trying to establish are they better than us?
Or is it simply genuine curiosity?
As an entrepreneur, you are most likely asked that infamous question frequently.
Regardless the motive, as the person is getting off the elevator, how do you answer?
Do you have the one sentence response?
The killer statement where the person walking off the elevator will know exactly what you do.
Can you recite your mission statement?
If you do have one, are you comfortable sharing it with a total stranger?
Is it short?
Concise?
Straight to the point?
Could it fit in a T-shirt?
A bumper sticker?
Or is a long diatribe describing customer satisfaction, high quality, competitive prices and saving the world from environmental decay.
Can you drop the bomb in a few words, so this stranger smiles, high-fives you and leaves you with the elevator doors closing knowing exactly what you do?
They now not only know your what, but they also now know your WHY.
Mission Statement = Your Why
Let your mission statement become your mantra.
Your M.O.
Once I found my mission statement and my why, I shared it with everyone.
I told anyone who was involved in the company.
Customers. Soulmates.
My staff. My accountant.
The UPS driver.
The garbage collector.
My minister. My friends.
Vendors. Workout partners.
My dog.
When you commit to a cause, you search for others to surround you and join the fight.
You find yourself saying, “You are either with us or against us.”
For example, I recited it before every staff meeting.
It was printed at the top of every agenda.
The mission statement and our Why became such a powerful tool.
Especially when faced with a critical company decision to make.
For example, every time the conversation was towards expanding our product line or any other major decision, we asked ourselves, “does this decision fit the mission”?
Will this investment help us accomplish our goals?
Can we realistically see a healthy ROI in a timely manner?
Does it strengthen our Why?
So what is your mission?
What is your war cry?
Can everyone involved in your company easily explain what your company does in a few short words?
Could they recite the company mission?
Can they describe your “why”?
Could they quickly provide the elevator pitch before that total stranger walks off the elevator?
More importantly, would the stranger on the elevator fully understand your business and your why as they walk off?
Wrapping It Up
Thanks for reading this post. I deeply appreciate it!
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