WHY

I have recently been re-reading the book by Simon Sinek; Start with WHY.  If you have not read this book or viewed his TED video it is well worth your time.  I have taken it upon myself to write out my own WHY statement. Specifically, WHY I help the owners of private companies create value and plan for the transition from their business.  I found the process very enlightening and learned a lot about me that I had not previously understood.  All of this unleased a passion within that I did not know existed and upon which I can grow my business.

Passion is the essence of what Simon is trying to get across.  According to Simon, people do not buy what you do; they buy why you do it.  Think about this statement from your own buying patterns.  Are you drawn to someone who presents all the features of a product or are you drawn to someone who can speak passionately about the benefits?  I was at a wine tasting the other night.  There were about 10 different tables with wines from all over.  All of the table hosts where very competent in describing the wines, where they came from and what grapes were used.  There was one table however that I could not leave. The wines were all of high quality with high ratings, but more than that the table host spoke passionately about the wines and the process used to produce very unique tastes.  It made me want to buy everything at the table and he never once tried to sell me.

In the example above all the other table hosts had a job to do, this one had a clear understanding about WHY he was doing what he did, and it showed.  Now in my opinion, this process is true whether you are looking for a full time position or building a consulting practice.  What is the WHY behind what you are selling?  Will the passion for your WHY come out during an interview, or will you just speak to how you can do the job?  Can you describe with passion, the benefits that you bring to your future employer?

I was recently at the annual partner meeting of B2B CFO®, the firm for which I am a partner.  At the meeting we unveiled a corporate why statement, something that every company should do. Attached is a link to the video of our WHY statement:  https://www.b2bcfo.com/.  This video describes why we as a firm exist and follows along very closely with my own why statement; which is to serve the owners of privately held companies.

To help you get started follow the process we did, which is right out of the book.  Start your message with the why; the purpose, the cause, the belief that you have as an organization.  Here again is our why statement:

• We serve owners of privately held companies
• Everything we do is to improve their lives
• Each owner is unique
• Each owner is important to our society
• We improve their lives by removing barriers that get in their way
• We have unique tools and processes
• Contact one of our professionals and see how we can serve you

© B2B CFO^® 2014