Start with why

To Run or To Lead
For all the talented HOW-types running today’s organizations, they can achieve
success that will last their lifetimes, but they will spend their lifetimes running
their companies. There are many ways to be successful and drive profits. Any
number of manipulations, only some of which I’ve touched upon in this book,
work quite well. Even the ability to create a tipping point is possible without
creating lasting change. It’s called a fad. But great organizations function exactly
like any social movement. They inspire people to talk about a product or idea,
include that product in the context of their lifestyle, share the idea or even find
ways to advance the prosperity of the organization itself. Great organizations not
only excite the human spirit, they inspire people to take part in helping to
advance the cause without needing to pay them or incentivize them in any
particular way. No cash-back incentives or mail-in rebates required. People feel
compelled to spread the word, not because they have to, but because they want
to. They willingly take up arms to share the message that inspires them.

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Build a Megaphone That Works
After a three-month selection process, BCI finally chose a new ad agency to help
develop a campaign to launch their new product line. Big Company Incorporated
is a well-known brand operating in a fairly cluttered market space. As a
manufacturer, their products are sold via a third-party sales force, often on the
shelves of big-box retailers, so they don’t have direct control over the sales
process. The best they can do is to try to influence the sale from a distance—
with marketing. BCI is a good company with a strong culture. The employees
respect the management, and in general the company does good work. But over
the years the competition has grown fairly stiff. And although BCI has a good
product and competitive pricing, it is still tough to maintain strong growth year
over year. This year, BCI management is particularly excited because the
company is launching a new product they really think will make BCI stand out.
To help promote it, BCI’s agency has launched a major new ad campaign.
“From the leading maker,” says the new ad, “comes the newest, most
innovative product you’ve ever seen.” The ad goes on to talk about all the new
features and benefits, and includes something about the “quality you’ve come to
expect from BCI,” something the BCI executives felt quite strongly about
including. BCI executives have worked hard to build their company’s reputation
and they want to leverage it. They are very excited about their new campaign
and are really banking on the success of this product to help drive sales in
general. They know they do good work, and they want to get the message out.
They need it to be loud. And with a budget of millions of dollars to advertise
their new product, in that respect, BCI succeeds.
But there is a problem.
BCI and their agency did a good job of telling people about their new product.
The work was quite creative. They were able to explain what was new and
special about their latest innovation, and focus groups agreed that the new
product was much better than that of the competition. The millions of dollars in
media ensured that lots of people would see their advertising and see it often.
Their reach and frequency, the measurement commonly used by ad agencies to
gauge the number of people exposed to the advertising, was very good. There is
no doubt that their message was loud. The problem was, it wasn’t clear. It was
all WHATs and HOW and no WHY. Even though people learned what the
product did, no one knew what BCI believed. The good news is, it’s not a

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complete loss; the products will sell as long as the ads are on the air and the
promotions remain competitive. It’s an effective strategy, but an expensive way
to make money.
What if Martin Luther King had delivered a comprehensive twelve-point plan
about achieving civil rights in America, a plan more comprehensive than any
other plan for civil rights ever offered? Booming through the speakers that
summer’s day in 1963, his message would have been loud. Microphones, like
advertising and PR, are fantastic for making sure a message is heard. Like BCI,
King’s message would still have reached thousands of people. But his belief
would not have been clear.
Volume is reasonably easy to achieve. All it takes is money or stunts. Money
can pay to keep a message front and center. And publicity stunts are good at
getting on the news. But neither plants seeds of loyalty. Many reading this may
remember that Oprah Winfrey once gave away a free car to every member of her
studio audience. It happened several years ago, in 2004, and still people refer to
the stunt. But how many can recall the model of car she gave away? That’s the
problem. It was Pontiac that donated $7 million worth of cars, 276 of their new
G6 model, to be exact. And it was Pontiac that saw the stunt as a way to market
their new car. Yet although the stunt worked well to reinforce Oprah’s generous
nature, something with which we are all familiar, few remember that Pontiac
was a part of the event. Worse, the stunt didn’t do anything to reinforce some
purpose, cause or belief that Pontiac represents. We had no idea what Pontiac’s
WHY was before the stunt, so it’s hard for the publicity stunt to do much more
than, well, be a stunt to get some publicity. With no sense of WHY, there is
nothing else it’s doing.
For a message to have real impact, to affect behavior and seed loyalty, it needs
more than publicity. It needs to publicize some higher purpose, cause or belief to
which those with similar values and beliefs can relate. Only then can the
message create any lasting mass-market success. For a stunt to appeal to the left
side of the curve of the Law of Diffusion, WHY the stunt is being performed,
beyond the desire to generate press, must be clear. Though there may be short-
term benefits without clarity, loud is nothing more than excessive volume. Or in
business vernacular: clutter. And companies wonder why differentiation is such
a challenge these days. Have you heard the volume coming from some of them?
In contrast, what would have been the impact of Dr. King’s speech had he not
had a microphone and loudspeakers? His vision would have been no less clear.
His words would have been no less inspiring. He knew what he believed and he
spoke with passion and charisma about that belief. But only the few people with
front-row seats would have been inspired by those words. A leader with a cause,

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whether it be an individual or an organization, must have a megaphone through
which to deliver his message. And it must be clear and loud to work. Clarity of
purpose, cause or belief is important, but it is equally important that people hear
you. For a WHY to have the power to move people it must not only be clear, it
must be amplified to reach enough people to tip the scale.
It’s no coincidence that the three-dimensional Golden Circle is a cone. It is, in
practice, a megaphone. An organization effectively becomes the vessel through
which a person with a clear purpose, cause or belief can speak to the outside
world. But for a megaphone to work, clarity must come first. Without a clear
message, what will you amplify?

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