Consider Why, What & How

In the Power of Why, Simon Sinek ask “Why is Apple so innovative? Why is it that they seem so different? Sinek looked at many companies across many categories uncovered a recurring pattern. The companies that consistently standout, think and act differently than others in their category. The secret is that they tell consumer why they should care. This is crucial to how brands present themselves to the world because it changes context of the conversation brands have with consumers.

In thinking about conversations, it important to define the outcome. Conversations are meant to exchange information for the purpose of taking an agreed upon action. Therefore it is of the utter most importance that people share their ideas so they can develop the same mental model when trying to solve a problem. It makes building consensus amongst large groups easier and it make it easier to get an idea to market when all the stakeholders in an organization are in agreement.

In my workshop, I am accounting for this by developing a standardize way to present ideas.

This tool is important because it creates a template for people to share ideas. In this model I use Sinek’s methodology of using “why”, “how” and “what” to present ideas. By using this as a framework, brand managers, engineers, developers and agency partners can all speak the same language.

The result is consensus. Ideas usually fall apart when there is room for interpretation. Since all of the stakeholders on a project are in the room, nothing should be lost in translation. This is important because when each partner goes off to execute against their specific discipline they know exactly what role they share in bringing that idea to life.

The end result is a common purpose and a more refined expression of a  product, service and experience that comes to market.