Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint, is back making commercials for his company.  In the latest version, he is doing more of what he did in previous ads - selling on price.  The top guy in the company, the big boss, numero uno, looks straight into the camera and tells you Sprint's latest calling plan is better than the competition's. That's what the most senior person in the company wants us to know about his company - they're cheap.  

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Phil Knight, the charismatic founder and former CEO of Nike. Knight was the keynote speaker at a conference and, like the CEO of Sprint, he too made a case for why you should choose Nike over the competition.  But Knight took a different approach.  He didn’t say what Nike does or how they are better.  And he certainly didn't attempt to differentiate the company based on price.  Instead, he told a story that explains Why Nike exists.

Looking across the audience, Knight asked those who run to stand up and a good percentage of the room stood up.  Then he asked those who run three or more times a week to keep standing; everyone else was asked to sit down.

Looking out at the people left standing, Knight said, "we are for you." "When you get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go for a run," he went on, "even if it’s cold and wet out, you go. And when you get to mile 4, we’re the one standing under the lamp post, out there in the cold and wet with you, cheering you on.  We’re the inner athlete.  We’re the inner champion.”

Without a single mention of their latest technologies or which athletes wear their products, Knight makes a vastly more compelling case for Why we want Nike in our lives. Nike may or may not be better, but we are drawn to them because they have a cause.  They know and we know Why they do what they do.  The same can not be said for Sprint and so many other companies.

Phil Knight knows Why Nike exists and he tells us.  It is the same purpose, cause or belief that inspires his employees as well as his customers.  “Just Do It” is more than a tag line, it’s a motto.  It’s a cheer.  It’s a rallying cry. Are Sprint employees inspired to be cheap?

The mistake Mr. Hesse and so many other marketers make is that they tell us what the company does and how they think they are better, but there is not a single mention of Why the company exists in the first place.  And it’s the Why that matters most in a purchase decision.  People don’t buy what you do, they buy Why you do it. And Why is what truly differentiates one company from another.

Nike doesn’t want to make products for everyone, they want to make products for champions.  Champions are not the ones who always win races; champions are the ones who get out there and try. And try harder the next time. And even harder the next time. Champion is a state of mind. They are devoted.  They compete to best themselves as much if not more than they compete to best others.  Champions are not just athletes. Champions are entrepreneurs, politicians, nurses, soldiers, students and Hall of Famers.  Nike wants to make products for all champions. 

What Phil Knight can do that so many other CEOs can't is put his company’s Why into words. And because he can, so can all those who work at the company.  And because everyone in his company can put the Why into words, so can we.  Sprint and Nike are both companies built on brand equity in industries in which there is little to no real difference between one company's products and another's. But we all know what Nike stands for. We only know what Sprint does and we may or may not believe they are better or cheaper, but we certainly have no clue Why they exist. 

Before consumers can know your Why, you must know it. If you don’t know Why you do what you do, how will anyone else?

Your Why starts as a feeling.  Call it drive or passion or inspiration or something in your gut, it doesn’t matter.  Only when that feeling is translated into words can it become actionable and scalable.  Only when others can repeat your Why as clearly as you can, can you lead. And when you lead, you never have to sell on price. Someone should tell Dan Hesse to stop talking about price and start talking about Why.  Come on Mr. Hesse...just do it.

Everyone knows WHAT they do. Some know HOW they do it. But very few know WHY they do what they do.  Only those who know WHY are ones who lead.  Discover your Why at WHY University.

Dwight Eisenhower said, "planning is everything, the plan is nothing." I didn't know what he meant until recently.

Whether you're starting a business or managing your career, when we set out on the journey the plan often look like this:

Our goals are clear and the path is clear.  All that's left to do is to follow the plan - to walk down the path.

But when we actually start the business or set out on our careers, the path actually looks more like this:

In reality, most plans are rendered useless almost as soon as they are put in motion. There is still some value in the original plan, however.  It defines the goal or the outcome we desire.  And that's the most important part of the original plan - that the destination is clear; the reason you're on the journey in the first place.

When you looked at the second picture, did you see only the crowd blocking the path or did you look into the distance to see the buildings - the destination?  Even in this little exercise, looking at the building and wondering how to get there is vastly more inspiring than looking at the crowd and wondering how you'll get through it. The same is true in our businesses and in our careers. We often lose sight of the destination and can see only the people coming at us in all directions.  We see only obstacles. But simply by looking up, looking ahead, the obstacles seem to become less daunting.   

With your eyes refocused, start planning as you go and start planning ahead. Learn to be flexible. Learn to anticipate; something with which the original plan offers no help.

Should you move to the left or the right of the man in the baseball cap? What about the guy in the sunglasses?  Soon you'll have to pass the guy in the orange jacket. Or perhaps there's a completely different route to take altogether.

As a fun little exercise, try this when you actually walk down the street. Focus ahead at what you'll have to pass and have in your mind a plan of action.  You'll be amazed how much quicker you get to your destination and you'll be astounded how much more fun you'll have getting there.  The crowd will no longer be a sea of obstacles, and the journey will feel like a game.

Then do the same for your business or your career. The plan, you see, is nothing. Planning is everything.

Everyone knows WHAT they do. Some know HOW they do it. But very few know WHY they do what they do.  Only those who know WHY are ones who lead.  Discover your Why at WHY University.

There is great beauty in that which is imperfect.

The grain in a piece of wood. A bristle of a paintbrush left stranded in a painting. The uneven glaze of a Japanese ceramic cup.

Perfection comes out of molds or off assembly lines. Things made by nature or by hand are imperfect. It is their flaws that make these objects unlike any other of their kind. It is their imperfections that make these things unique and beautiful. 

The same is true for people.

It is the blend of anxiety, fear, pain, insecurity and naïveté that makes each person special. Ironically, we try to suppress these feelings, cover them up and compensate in an attempt to appear perfect to the outside world. We put ourselves into quite unnatural positions in hope that others don’t perceive us as we truly are: imperfect.

Authenticity is about imperfection. And authenticity is a very human quality. To be authentic is to be at peace with your imperfections.  The great leaders are not the strongest, they are the ones who are honest about their weaknesses.  The great leaders are not the smartest; they are the ones who admit how much they don't know.  The great leaders can't do everything; they are the ones who look to others to help them. Great leaders don't see themselves as great; they see themselves as human.

Great leaders don't try to be perfect, they try to be themselves.  And that's what makes them great.

Everyone knows WHAT they do. Some know HOW they do it. But very few know WHY they do what they do.  Only those who know WHY are ones who lead.  Discover your Why at WHY University.

What does it mean to be successful?

It's fascinating how many people pursue something that lacks a standard definition.  Is success achieving some level of accumulation? Maybe. What if you don't make a lot of money? Does that mean you're not successful? Not necessarily.

To pursue something, we need to know what it is otherwise how do you know how to get there or when you've arrived?

Accumulation or reaching some measurable goal is not success - that's achievement.  Success is a feeling.

Success is waking up everyday at peace with the life you live and the decisions you've made.

I wish everyone great success.

Everyone knows WHAT they do. Some know HOW they do it. But very few know WHY they do what they do.  Only those who know WHY are ones who lead.  Check out WHY University.

They have to learn to sit up, talk, walk, get dressed, go to the bathroom...everything! It seems children learn much faster than adults because they have to.

One Saturday morning, a Saturday just like all other Saturdays, two boys were sent out by their respective fathers to sell apples in the market.  And, like all other Saturdays, both of the fathers gave their boys the exact same instruction, "I want you to go to the market today, my son, and sell as many apples as you can. The apples you sell today," the fathers explained, "will provide for the family for the whole week." And, like all other Saturdays, the boys looked up at their fathers and said, "I will not let you down, papa."

Both of these boys stood on the same street, the same street they both stood on like all other the other Saturdays, and sold their apples.  Both offered the juiciest, ripest apples at the exact same price. And, like all other Saturdays, both boys sold about one third of the apples on their carts, just enough money to provide for their respective families for the coming week.

But this Saturday would not be like all other Saturdays. On this Saturday, one boy looked over to the other and said, "every Saturday we come to market to sell our apples.  And, like all other Saturdays, we both sell about one third of our ripe, juicy apples. Perhaps we should try something different today - why don't we take our carts to a different street.

The other boy looked over and replied, "I promised my father I would not let him down and if I take my cart across the cobble stones in search of a better street, which we may or may not find, apples will fall off my cart.  I do not want to risk losing any of my apples.  I am going to stay here."

He was right, there was a risk that the apples would fall off the cart - apples which he could not then sell. The first boy thought for a moment.  He looked at his cart, then he looked at the cobbled street, then he looked to the other boy and said, "I am going."  And unlike all other Saturdays, he went off in search of a different street.

That evening, the two boys joined paths on the walk home.  The boy who stayed put for fear of losing some of his apples looked over to his friend and said, "I had a good day today, like all other Saturdays, I sold about one third of my apples, enough to provide for my family until next week."

The other boy reported on his day, "I spent some time looking for a busier street. My cart bounced around on the cobble stones and a few of my apples fell off the cart. But I did find a busier street and then I sold all the rest of my apples and made enough money to provide for my family for the next three weeks. Next Saturday, "he went on, "will not be like all the other Saturdays.  Next Saturday I am going to risk losing some apples again."

How are you building your business? Are you willing to upset the apple cart?

Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. He writes, consults and speaks all over the world about the power of Why - the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. Sinek has just published his first book, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

Wanted: Talented executive to rebuild the economy for the next 100 years.

Since the decline in our economy, a remarkable opportunity has arisen – to redefine how banking works in this country, if not the world for decades to come. If you have ideas about the ways a large US-based financial institution should change the way it operates in order to avoid another meltdown, sustain growth and lead the world into a new era, then we’d like to hear from you.  The pay is competitive and very handsome bonuses are available if sustainable success is achieved.  

Do you have what it takes?    

What sort of person do you think the above ad would attract?

Recently five executives at the AIG insurance company announced they would resign if the government restricted their pay to $500,000 per year.  Bank of America is complaining that unless they can pay whatever they want, they will not get the talent they need to fix the company.

And that is where they are completely wrong.

If money is the primary lure to get someone to join your company, then it will attract those candidates who are attracted to money as the primary incentive to show up as opposed to the real reason the company needs them - to change the way they do business.  Offer someone the opportunity to rebuild a company or reinvent an industry as the primary incentive and it will attract those drawn to the challenge first and the money second.  And which would you rather have running your company? 

More importantly, after an economic downturn, caused in large part to a money-first mentality, who do you think we should hand the keys to now? The executive driven by the cause or the one who is driven by money?

We are all so offended by how much bankers pay themselves that we have lost sight of the real issue. Money, even obscene amounts of it, is not the problem. But it should be the reward for building strong, long-term sustainable organizations and not given as the primary motivation for showing up or simply making the quarter or even the year. That is the strategy that drove Lehman Brothers into the ground and caused the mess in the first place.

There is nothing wrong with compensating someone handsomely for the work they do and the results they achieve, but not in a vacuum.  Money is a short-term result that incentivizes short-term decision making.  A cause is something that lasts and is the foundation of sustainability. 

As we have all had to suffer in the economic downturn, it falls to us to speak out louder and demand that the banks hire executives inspired to be a part of something bigger than themselves over those who demand something bigger before they feel inspired.  If we don’t, start saving your pennies for the next collapse in 10 years time.  

As the would-be CEO of Bank of America, I am pleased to hear the deal fell apart as a result of a debate over compensation.  Though I am disappointed to hear the executives at AIG won their argument – I had hoped they would quit and find better paying jobs at less influential companies in less important industries.  That way we would all get what we want. 

Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. He writes, consults and speaks all over the world about the power of Why - the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. Sinek has just published his first book, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. He writes, consults and speaks all over the world about the power of Why - the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. Sinek has just published his first book, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

Most Sundays throughout the year,  the New York Road Runners organizes races in Central Park. They range in distance from a mile or two to distances just shy of half-marathon length.  Though there are medals for the winners, hundreds even thousands of New Yorkers take part simply for fun or to try to beat their own times.

One  Sunday morning, a friend and I ran in a 4-mile race together.  My friend is a decent runner. He is more disciplined about keeping a regular running schedule than I am. And as a result, he is generally a little faster than I am too. Though he works for a large bank down on Wall Street, on more than one occasion he has mentioned a desire to start his own business one day.  I always assumed that he was well suited to be an entrepreneur, given his discipline. 

That was...until we got to the end of the race. 

Sometimes they give away free stuff to the runners at the finish line.  On this day - free bagels.  There were boxes of bagels sitting atop 2 or 3 of those long, brown fold-up lunch tables, like in high school. On one side of the tables were volunteers giving out the bagels. On the other side of the tables was a long line of runners waiting to get a free bagel. A long line of runners. 

I turned to my friend and said, "lets get a free bagel." He turned, looked at the line and said, "nah, forget it, line's too long."

I looked at him, puzzled. Pointed to the bagels and said, "lets just get a bagel - they're free."  He pointed to the line and said, "yeah, but I don't want to wait."

And it was at that point, I realized he could never be an entrepreneur. 

Entrepreneurs see the thing they want or need then try to figure out a process how to get it. People who should not be entrepreneurs see the standard process they need to go through to get the thing they want or need then decide if they want to go through that process.  My friend did not want to stand in line, so he opted to abandon the bagel.  I wanted the bagel, so I opted to avoid the line.

I could see that he would rather not have a bagel than break the rules. So I pushed him, "come on, we don't need to stand in line, lets just get a bagel." He refused. He pushed me back, "come on, lets just go... the line is too long."

Realizing we saw the world differently, I walked up to the tables, leaned through the line, put my hand in one of the boxes, pulled out two bagels and walked back to him with our breakfast.  Not a single person in the line said anything to me or even seemed to care.

Entrepreneurs smile when I tell this story.  Non-entrepreneurs like to tell me that I shouldn't do things like that, because if everyone did things like that, we'd have anarchy.  And that is true... IF everyone had what it took to be an entrepreneur.  But not everyone does. Which is why most people don't start their own businesses and why most people are perfectly fine to stand in line.

And this is why the whole system works. Because the two mindsets need each other. If no one ever broke the rules, then we would never advance. But if a few people were willing to take the bagel, to break the rules in order to find or create a better process for the majority to follow... that is called progress.

Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. He writes, consults and speaks all over the world about the power of Why - the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. Sinek has just published his first book, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.