“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” This is one of the many phrases from Simon Sinek’s TED Talk ‘How Great Leaders Inspire Action’ and it is one of those phrases that gets into your head and doesn’t seem to get out. I remember watching this video when I was working in a company in Colombia. One of my roles was to manage a group of people and so, as a manager, we were trained with these kinds of videos to understand and learn how to be a great manager.
At that moment that video made me change the way I see and understand many things of managing, but looking at it again, almost 4 years after, is completely different. Having new ideas, goals and purposes modifies the whole experience of learning and understanding the video and the concept.
For my last post I talked on the first components of starting a business with the business model canvas. In this post, the idea is to discuss what will make the business stand out, what will make the business the go to answer to many clients. Starting with why is key to understand and visualize that thing that sets VICA apart from the rest.
Going back to the quote, people, customers, are buying why VICA is doing what they do. Brisbane, Medellin, all around the world, there are thousands of graphic and interior design studios, but why will the customers go to VICA and not the other studio around the corner. Or even why will an employee choose to work at VICA and not the other studio around the corner.
Not only the customers make the studio, but the employees are also the core of the studio. Sinek said it “…if you hire people who believe what you believe they will work with blood and tears for that…” In my case I want to believe in two things:
Having a studio where creativity flows, where no one is afraid to ask or to have an opinion, a place where there is trust, a place with a creative sustainable environment.
That our studio is a place where a relationship based in trust is created with our clients, in which creativity is the road to solving their problems.
And yes, creativity is part of every design studio, but what I believe in is what will set me apart from the rest. It is not about the money; it is about creating an environment where people and clients want to work with. If my studio is a happy place to work in, if my employees are as passionate or even more than what I am for design, that will be transparent to our clients. They will see that for us, our main goal, our hobby is creating beautiful designs that are capable to solve their problems.
At the end, the clients will also “believe in what we believe…”
If you came this far and want to watch the whole TED Talk, click on the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action/up-next#t-704668
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