Start with why

In Violation of Celery
Birkenstock sandals, tie-dyed T-shirts, daisy chains and a VW van. All are
symbols of the hippie ideals of peace, love and all things vegetarian. So it was a
bit of a surprise in 2004 when Volkswagen introduced a $70,000 luxury model
to their lineup. The company famous for putting a vase for fresh flowers on the
dashboard of their new Beetle introduced the Phaeton in an attempt to compete
with high-end luxury cars, including the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the BMW
7 Series. The V-8, 335-horsepower car boasted some of the most advanced
features in the industry, like an air compressor suspension system and a draftless
four-zone climate control. It even included an electronically controlled shiatsu
massage system in the seats. The car was an astounding achievement. It was
very comfortable and was a monster on the road, outperforming other more
established luxury cars in its class. The critics loved it. But there was a small
problem. Despite all the facts and figures, features and benefits, and regardless
of the world-renowned German engineering, few people bought one. It just
didn’t make sense. What VW had done was inconsistent with what we knew
them to believe.
Volkswagen, which translated means “people’s car,” had spent generations
making cars for you and me. Everyone knew what VW stood for—power to the
people. It brought its cause to life in products that were all about quality that the
average person could afford. In a single swoop of German ingenuity, VW had
been put completely out of balance. This is not like Dell coming out with an mp3
player or United starting the low-cost airline Ted. In those cases, we had no idea
what the companies’ WHYs were. Absent any knowledge or feeling for their
WHY, we couldn’t bring ourselves to buy products from them that went
anything beyond WHAT they do. In this case, VW has a clear WHY, but WHAT
they produced was completely misaligned. They failed the Celery Test.
Toyota and Honda knew this better than Volkswagen. When they decided to
add luxury models to their lineups, they created new brands, Lexus and Acura
respectively, to do it. Toyota had become a symbol of efficiency and
affordability to the general population. They had built their business on a suite of
low-cost cars. They knew that the market would not pay a premium for a luxury
car with the same name or with the same logo on the hood. Although a luxury
car, Lexus is still another WHAT to Toyota’s WHY. It still embodies the same
cause as the Toyota-branded cars, and the values of the company are the same.

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The only difference is WHAT they are doing to bring that cause to life.
The good news is, VW hasn’t made the same mistake again, and their WHY
remains clear. But if a company tries too many times to “seize market
opportunities” inconsistent with their WHY over time, their WHY will go fuzzy
and their ability to inspire and command loyalty will deteriorate.
What companies say and do matters. A lot. It is at the WHAT level that a
cause is brought to life. It is at this level that a company speaks to the outside
world and it is then that we can learn what the company believes.

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