Start with why

Consistency of WHAT
Everything you say and everything you do has to prove what you believe. A
WHY is just a belief. That’s all it is. HOWs are the actions you take to realize
that belief. And WHATs are the results of those actions—everything you say
and do: your products, services, marketing, PR, culture and whom you hire. If
people don’t buy WHAT you do but WHY you do it, then all these things must
be consistent. With consistency people will see and hear, without a shadow of a
doubt, what you believe. After all, we live in a tangible world. The only way
people will know what you believe is by the things you say and do, and if you’re
not consistent in the things you say and do, no one will know what you believe.
It is at the WHAT level that authenticity happens. “Authenticity” is that word
so often bandied about in the corporate and political worlds. Everyone talks
about the importance of being authentic. “You must be 
authentic
,” experts say.
“All the trend data shows that people prefer to do business with 
authentic
brands.” “People vote for the 
authentic
candidate.” The problem is, that
instruction is totally unactionable.
How do you go into somebody’s office and say, “From now on, please, a little
more authenticity.” “That marketing piece you’re working on,” a CEO might
instruct, “please make it a little more authentic.” What do companies do to make
their marketing or their sales or whatever they’re doing authentic?
The common solution is hilarious to me. They go out and do customer
research and they ask the customers, what would we have to tell you for us to be
authentic? This entirely misses the point. You can’t ask others what you have to
do to be authentic. Being authentic means that you already know. What does a
politician say when told to be “more authentic”? How does a leader act more
“authentically”? Without a clear understanding of WHY, the instruction is
completely useless.
What authenticity means is that your Golden Circle is in balance. It means that
everything you say and everything you do you 
actually
believe. This goes for
management as well as the employees. Only when that happens can the things
you say and do be viewed as authentic. Apple believed that its original Apple
computer and its Macintosh challenged the dominant IBM DOS platforms.
Apple believes its iPod and iTunes products are challenging the status quo in the
music industry. And we all understand WHY Apple does what it does. It is
because of that mutual understanding that we view those Apple products as

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authentic. Dell introduced mp3 players and PDAs in an attempt to enter the
small electronics business. We don’t know what Dell’s WHY is, we have no
certainty about what the company believes or WHY it produced those products
beyond self-gain and a desire to capitalize on a new market segment. Those
products are not authentic. It’s not that Dell couldn’t enter other markets—it
certainly has the knowledge and ability to make good products—but its ability to
do so without a clear understanding of WHY is what makes it much harder and
much more expensive. Just producing high-quality products and marketing them
does not guarantee success. Authenticity cannot be achieved without clarity of
WHY. And authenticity matters.
Ask the best salesmen what it takes to be a great salesman. They will always
tell you that it helps when you really believe in the product you’re selling. What
does 
belief
have to do with a sales job? Simple. When salesmen actually believe
in the thing they are selling, then the words that come out of their mouths are
authentic. When belief enters the equation, passion exudes from the salesman. It
is this authenticity that produces the relationships upon which all the best sales
organizations are based. Relationships also build trust. And with trust comes
loyalty. Absent a balanced Golden Circle means no authenticity, which means
no strong relationships, which means no trust. And you’re back at square one
selling on price, service, quality or features. You are back to being like everyone
else. Worse, without that authenticity, companies resort to manipulation: pricing,
promotions, peer pressure, fear, take your pick. Effective? Of course, but only
for the short term.
Being authentic is not a requirement for success, but it is if you want that
success to be a lasting success. Again, it goes back to WHY. Authenticity is
when you say and do the things you actually believe. But if you don’t know
WHY the organization or the products exist on a level beyond WHAT you do,
then it is impossible to know if the things you say or do are consistent with your
WHY. Without WHY, any attempt at authenticity will almost always be
inauthentic.

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