Start with Why – Sinek’s Golden Circle

In many discussions I catch myself interjecting the question “what problem are we solving right now”. Sometimes it works wonders to get a conversation back on track. I stumbled across “Golden Circle” a while back – in fact, it was a client who uses it extensively in their organization.

Simon Sinek has summed up focusing on the goal in a wonderfully catchy way and he also presents it beautifully, it’s one of the most viewed youtube videos (18 min – or the short version in 5 min).

For me the terminology was confusing at first

• Why – the overarching goal, vision or core belief
  For us, improuv, it might look like this:
  We want people to be able and willing to work in an interesting, fulfilling and enjoyable work environment.
• How – the difference
  for example:
  A pleasant working environment is only sustainable if it is also effective for the organisations. We are working with stakeholders to develop the skills and structures to provide such an environment.
• What – concrete actions, products and services
  for example:
  We provide coaching for organizations and training for individuals embarking on this journey.

I had previously used a different assignment of terms: For the goals we had used “Why – What – How”. In our internal list we had used the three terms “Identity – Vision – Mission”, which can be mapped one-to-one to the Golden Circle

But the concept is too good – and too well communicated – to ignore. I adapt my use of language and materials.

And don’t forget: be sure to watch (or re-watch) the YouTube video.