The model is a circle that includes three basic questions that must be present in any advertising message: why?, how?, what? The order in which these questions are communicated is decisive for whether a business idea is successful or not.
In this article, we explain what Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle” is, the story behind this model and how it is put into practice.
The Golden Circle is a model through which Simon Sinek explained in his famous TED talk called “How great leaders inspire action” (2010) and in his book “Start with Why” why some influential and disruptive people like Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King and the Wright brothers, created innovative ideas that others blindly supported.
For Sinek, the reasons behind Apple's success (the company he uses as an philippine whatsapp number example in his conference and book) are related to the way it communicates its purpose (WHY) and influences other people to do the same.
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During the TED talk we share with you here, Sinek repeated over and over again “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” This phrase implies the importance of starting a promotional message by talking about the purpose or goal of a project, a product or a business idea in general, so that others connect immediately.
When we talk about “Others” we refer to collaborators committed to the growth of a company and loyal customers who buy a product because they share its value proposition and identify with it.
The origin of the Golden Circle
The Golden Circle model arose from a problem that Sinek perceived during his years as an advertiser: consumers can find very similar product and service offerings, with similar prices and quality levels. In this competitive scenario, how can a company be unique and make a difference? The answer is: by communicating its “why.”
A company may know what products it sells, how it makes or produces them, i.e. its know-how, but it may not be clear about its purpose and its competitive advantages. Therefore, they lose sight of why their customers prefer them and why their team continues to work with them.
Thus, the Golden Circle is a proposal to solve this problem and to make people understand the importance of understanding the essence or belief behind the design of a product or service, in order to buy it and identify with it.
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How to apply the Golden Circle?
golden-circle-simon-sinek
The Golden Circle is a visual representation of three circles. Each of them represents 3 areas that must be present in a business pitch or advertising message: what?, how? and why?
For Sinek, the problem is that companies start their advertising messages by talking about what they do and how they do it (rational data) and then they mention the purpose behind it (emotional information), that is, they communicate from the outside in under the circle scheme.
In the worst case, there are companies that are not clear about their purpose and therefore do not even mention it.
Part of Sinek's recommendation, and the basis of his model's contribution, is to start a corporate message from the inside out, that is, first with the "WHY", the "HOW" and finally the "WHAT". Here is an example:
At Branch we believe that a happy life is a balanced life, where we learn, teach and grow together. Our greatest allies are companies that we help position through marketing strategies. We are an agency that cultivates brands.
Having a clear WHY and WHY allows us to survive technological, economic, social and cultural changes in the market. Thus, the HOW or the WHAT can change without affecting our essence.
Having an established WHY also helps us build a strong, standardized organizational culture on which our employees' work is based. Ultimately, the “Golden Circle” is a model that helps us understand the effect that a clear purpose can have on your company and provides guidelines to follow when creating an advertising message.