BUSS4 in 3 words: What do they say about Leadership, Values and Culture?

The link between Leadership, Values and Organisational Culture will be a familiar one for BUSS4 students. This video “Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action” from TED talks is a simple and really interesting way to make these links. It’s summed up by a “Golden Circle” and 3 words: What, How and Why

In summary:

Every organisation on the planet knows WHAT the business does

Some know HOW they do it (USP)

Very few organisations know WHY they do what they do what they do (the purpose, the cause, the belief. Why does your organisation exist)

As a result, the way most organisations think and communicate is from the outside-in: “the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing” (What to Why)

However, the inspired organisations and leaders, regardless of the industry they are in and their size, all think act and communicate from the inside-out

If you start from the centre of the circle, where you communicate your purpose, you are more likely to inspire action. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”

This got me thinking about a few things. Who are the leaders inspiring? Employees, customers or all stakeholders? How much of an influence is the purpose (or the values) of the leader/founder on the culture of an organisation?

The example used in the video is Apple, but see if you can apply this to your other research examples such as John Lewis, Zappos, Ikea, Enron, Barclays etc. Do they start from the outside and work in or do they start at the centre and work out? Is there a theme with the organisations that have a good/effective culture and those that have an ineffective/toxic culture?