People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it” said the speaker Simon Sinek in his first TED talk (2010).
And he explained that it is for this reason that the objective of a company should not be to do business with everyone who needs the product (the what), but to do business with everyone who believes the same as the firm (the why).
More than 10 years later, the speaker maintains this premise but not only focuses on the objectives of companies to increase sales, but also on the objectives that a person who identifies their “why” can achieve.
Sinek is convinced of the existence of a hopeful future, where the majority of people feel fulfilled with the work they do: they find their “why”.
And for years he has dedicated his professional life to finding his “why”: “I wanted to share that message with the whole world, because we all have the right to love our work,” Sinek said last Tuesday when he appeared at the event that every year summons contemporary references to address current issues: SURA Summit.
In the interview she gave to the vice president of human management of SURA Peru, Michelle Salcedo, she delved into the purposes of people in the context that Latin America presents.
Find the “why”
But before delving into the purposes of people in the context that Latin America presents, Sinek presented a way – although he pointed out that it is not the only one – in which they can find their purpose, their “why”.
The speaker recommended to anyone who is in search of their purpose to find a friend and ask them two questions; one after the other: “Why are we friends?” and “what is it specific about me that makes you care for me unconditionally?”
“Because we are friends?” After that question, according to Sinek, the friend in question will most likely not answer. It is that the part of the brain that controls feelings is not the one that controls language: “We have a hard time putting our feelings into words,” Sinek explained.
Faced with no answer, it is important to move on to the second question: “What is specific about me that makes you care for me unconditionally?”
In this answer, will be the purpose of the person.
Although at first the usual thing is for the friend to describe the person asking the question with such a general definition that it could encompass all his friends, faced with constant cross-examination he will begin to describe how he feels when he is with him and there. is its purpose.
To exemplify, Sinek said that this is how he discovered his purpose because after asking a friend what it was specifically that made her unconditional in any situation, she told him: “Simon, you don’t even have to talk because just as long as we are in the same fourth I feel inspired”.
“He taught me the value that I have in his life, and I found the value that I have in life,” said the speaker at the event.
Follow the “why”
Asked about the possibility that people have of finding their “why” – and thinking about the possibility of what happens in the region – Sinek said: “Everyone can find it, it is not the luxury of a few”.
However, he stated that all benefits come at some cost to people.
In his particular case, the cost of finding his purpose was in his social life, because when he made the decision to share the message of finding the “why” he also made the decision to spend his life traveling a lot.
But, when finding purpose in their lives, people usually take the cost – consequence of the benefit – with open eyes.
By the way, he said that one of the challenges at the social level is to think about the costs, because they have to be worth it. He explained that many times people plan their happiness and not exclusively their success: “There are a lot of people who plan their lives according to the economic success they can obtain and everything goes according to their plan because they manage to have wealth, but later they have no relationship with their children or other things”.
“Why”: necessary for effective leadership
According to data provided by Salcedo, currently the owners of the companies are perceived as more competent than the rulers to solve social problems. So 60% of people expect business leaders to speak publicly about these types of issues.
For Sinek, the reason why trust is placed in these people is because –through this decision– people are putting pressure on political leaders who up to now have not been solving the social problems that people want: “We let them to ask them to resolve, because we do not believe that they will work together for the greater good, ”he explained.
And why is the focus on business leaders? Because a good business leader is one who replaces his judgment with curiosity to understand others, then he can work for the greater good: to be “honorable.”
However, Sinek said that there are no established requirements for a business leader to take a social position unless he wants to do it for the company’s values. What he must do –according to the speaker- is to demonstrate that they have a purpose, that they have a value and that they make decisions according to their value.
“If that includes taking a social position, so be it,” he concluded.
