The Lean Golden Circle - the core of the Lean Start Global XXI Roadmap© - Introduction

According to Simon Sinek (author and speaker best known for popularizing the concept of "the golden circle of human motivation"),

Most companies start with What and How in their business plans, marketing, and even internal communications.

 In other words, we “communicate from the outside in”:
We say What we do, we say How we do it, then expect people to get on board.

To use Sinek’s example if Apple did this, the message might be:

“We make great computers. They’re beautifully designed, simple to use, and user-friendly. Want to buy one?”

Not very compelling is it? To continue his example, this is how Apple really communicates:

“Everything we do, we believe is challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user-friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”

Emotions.  “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
Most marketing initiatives always tell customers “what” and “how”; rarely do they tell you “why.”

SHOW LOVE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS:
State something like this company "You may not realize it, but we love what we do. We wake up everyday and make decisions on real values–such as integrity, honesty, respect, genuine concern, and loyalty.
We believe that our customers are our partners, and that were united by our constant challenge to create something of value, and be of service to others.
We believe that our purpose is to help them succeed, and grow.
The way we help is by simplifying the web, focusing on what gets results, and what satisfy’s their own customer’s needs. Yes, we write software and provide web-based services for the OCS Industry – but it goes way beyond that".


Start-Ups also have to start with the WHY, namely identifying and deeply understanding the problem to be solved or the need to be satisfied.

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According to Steve Blank, a startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

A business model describes how your company creates, delivers and captures value.

In other words, a business model describes how your company makes money (or other metrics for success: get users, grow traffic, etc.)

Think of a business model as a drawing that shows all the flows between the different parts of your company.  A business model diagram also shows how the product gets distributed to your customers and how money flows back into your company.  And it shows your company’s cost structures, how each department interacts with the others and where your company fits with other companies or partners to implement your business.

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Basically, what  Lean Thinking applied to Start-Ups is telling us, is that our starting point  is the WHY, then HOW, and finally WHAT. Not the other way around.