Why ask why?

A couple of weeks ago I was having dinner with my friend Jonathan. The conversation turned to work and I told him about my experience meeting Simon Sinik, the consultant who pioneered the idea that companies who operate from the “Why” they are in business are more successful than companies that focus on “What” they do. For example Apple’s why is to change the status quo and they bring that goal to every product and market they enter. Dell makes computers to order. This is why Apple’s products inherently change the way we think and live while Dell gives us pink laptops.

I told Jonathan about hearing Simon speak and realizing that the core purpose was a critical ingredient to success that I had been neglecting. I spoke about the process of working with Simon to identify Wall Street Services’ core purpose of “Finding out what our employees and clients need so we can give them what they want.” After it was all said and done Jonathan looked at me and said “Yeah but isn’t that a load of BS that you tell people so that you can make more money?”

This skepticism is completely understandable as there are few companies that walk their own talk. It is not that they are trying to pull the wool over our eyes – I believe that when corporations take on righteous aspirations to take on a bigger goal they are generally sincere. It is just that making a shift to a purpose driven model is very difficult and at every turn you are slapped with the reality of struggling with the day to day problems that make shooting for the stars difficult. What’s more corporations are responsible to the bottom line and must answer to share holders that expect a return on their investment.

To those skeptics my answer is clear and simple – operating out of a purpose that calls you to be bigger than you are is ultimately easier, much more profitable and infinitely more satisfying.

Here is a great example – Last week one of our staffers, Vincent came into the office to give us bagels and cream cheese as a thank you for helping him attain his dream job. Vincent in being in his dream job is more likely to do great work that will come to the attention to our client. The client will be grateful for the job well done will give us more business. Vincent will be inclined to tell his friends and colleagues about Wall Street Services for referrals.

As a result of living our core purpose we solidified our relationship with our clients and positioned ourselves to get referrals from an excellent source. All of this makes our job easier in the long run.

More importantly it is more satisfying. Not just for the bagels. Providing someone with a job they love has a profound impact on their life. When you have done it a couple of times it makes dealing with the hard parts of this job much more pleasurable.

We have a long road ahead to have our core purpose present in all we do. Ultimately it will make us all richer.