People Don't Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It
Simon Sinek argues that great companies start with belief, not features, and customers follow.
TED · How Great Leaders Inspire Action | Simon Sinek | TEDSimon Sinek, speaking to an audience about why some leaders inspire when others do not, said he had found a simple pattern. He drew three concentric circles and labeled them, from the outside in, What, How, and Why.
His line was this: "People don't buy what you do; people buy why you do it."
By why, Sinek said, he did not mean profit. Profit, he argued, is always a result. He meant purpose, cause, or belief: why an organization exists, why someone gets up for work each day, and why anyone should care.
Most companies, Sinek argued, communicate from the outside in. They start with the clearest thing, what they make, then say how they are different or better, and then expect a purchase or a vote. He offered the usual computer pitch as an example: "We make great computers. They're beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?"
Inspiring leaders and organizations, he said, do the reverse. They start with why and work outward. His example was Apple, which he described as communicating like this: "Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?"
The facts were the same, Sinek said, only the order had changed. Yet that shift, he argued, explains why people will comfortably buy a computer, a music player, a phone, or a video recorder from Apple, while equally qualified rivals struggled to stretch beyond computers. Gateway made flat screen televisions after years of making flat screen monitors, and Dell made music players, and almost nobody bought them.
"The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have," Sinek said. "The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe."
Questions people ask
Why did Sinek use Apple as his example?
Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, and became known for the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and distinctive design-led marketing. Sinek used it because almost everyone in his audience already had an opinion about it, which made the contrast between the two pitches easy to feel.
What companies were Gateway and Dell?
Gateway was a major American computer maker in the 1990s and early 2000s, known for computers shipped in cow-spotted boxes. Dell, founded by Michael Dell, became one of the world's largest PC sellers through direct sales and efficient manufacturing. Both tried to expand into consumer electronics in the 2000s.
Does starting with why work for a small business, not just a big brand?
It can, because the argument is about communication, not budget. A small shop can state its belief about why its work matters, and explain how that belief shapes what it sells. Customers who share that belief are more likely to become loyal, repeat buyers and recommend the business to others.