Philosophy

Always Start With the Whys

My philosophy is Simon Sinek's Golden Circle, drawn three times, plus one more ring called Where.

By Kiran Gopinath · 3 minute read

Most owners I sit down with can tell me what they sell in one sentence. Ask why the business exists and the answer gets longer. Ask why their customers buy, and it usually turns into a guess. That guess is where most of the clutter in a business starts.

Simon Sinek put the fix plainly:

People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.Simon Sinek

I agree with every word. I just found that one circle isn't enough to run a business on.

The idea in brief

• There are three whys, not one. Your business's why, your current customers' why and your target customers' why.
• Each why gets its own circle. Every circle builds from the center out: Why, How, What, and then Where.
• Your business's circle comes first. It is the filter for every hire, price and project.
• Your current customers' circle protects what you have. Every customer who leaves has to be replaced before you grow at all.
• Your target customers' circle shows where you're going. The customers you want next often buy for different reasons.
• Grow where the circles agree. Where they conflict, decide on purpose instead of by drift.
• Where turns it into a plan. Where you are, where you want to be, and the roadmap between, with dates and owners.

Build your circles

Pick a circle and build it ring by ring. The Why ring for your business is open. The rest unlock with your email, along with the full guide as a PDF: the complete essay, a worksheet for each circle and a roadmap template.

Get the full guide (PDF)

Questions people ask

What is the Always Start With the Whys framework?

It is a way to plan growth that starts with three whys instead of one: your business's why, your current customers' why and your target customers' why. Each why gets its own circle, built outward from Why to How, What and Where.

How is it different from Simon Sinek's Golden Circle?

Sinek's Golden Circle is drawn once, for the business. This framework draws it three times, once for each point of view, and adds a fourth outer ring, Where, that turns the circles into a roadmap.

Why include current customers and target customers separately?

Current customers fund the business today, so you protect what they came for. Target customers are the market you need to move into, and they often buy for different reasons. Seeing both side by side shows where to grow and where you have a decision to make.

Who is it for?

Owners and leadership teams of small and mid sized businesses who want to grow without losing the customers they already have.

Sources: Simon Sinek, The Golden Circle.