Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC; he portrayed a vision for the nation. “Now is the time!” He appealed to 250,000+ people that were in attendance at the event. “All men are created equal” reminded the nation of the spirit embedded in the Declaration of Independence. That speech made a huge impact to the history of the United States since Dr King’s dream was shared by many.
“People will believe what you believe instead of what you offer” can be a key concept for an entrepreneur’s business vision. Business vision shares what you believe. It can convince your investors to stand by you. It is a guidance for your brand promise, product vision and business plan. Therefore, to form a business vision that addresses what you believe is a worthwhile exercise.
Simon Sinek: “How great leaders inspire action” explained that “people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it” “The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe”. Simon addressed how to use a Golden Circle model to inspire people. That is to use an inside out approach to share “why”, “how” and “what” about your belief. Simon even mapped the Golden Circle with our brain structure to show how it made sense from a biological perspective.
Let’s explore the idea by examining business vision of some successful companies:
Amazon:”Our vision is to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
REI: “Skilled, knowledgeable, and noble-hearted men and women in every sector of a nation investing their lives in others to build their nation and inspire hope for future generations.”
Starbucks: “Establish Starbucks as the premier provider of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow”
Googles: “Develop a perfect search engine”
What do you think about these vision statements relative to the Golden Circle model of Simon Sinek’s?