Why? Facebook Knows.

Are those plugs? Stop staring at his scalp. Focus. He droned on. “We leverage big data, artificial intelligence and multivariate testing in order to personalize the consumer experience on behalf of our Fortune 500 clientele.” The CEO sat before me in his button-down, blue shirt and khaki-colored, Dockers attempting to articulate his company’s value prop. I smiled. As the industry buzzwords continued to spill from his gaping mouth, I wondered, does this man merely read and regurgitate TechCrunch? 

He took a breath. I jumped in. “Why?” I asked. “Why do people want to work for and with you?” He paused. “As I said, our unique algorithms enable us to…” I interrupted. “That is WHAT you do, not WHY you do it. Why? Why should I work for your company?” 

According to Simon Sinek, author of Start with the Why, this CEO was not unique. Most companies - along with their founders, employees and investors  - know WHAT they do and HOW they do it, but few know WHY. What’s the purpose? What is your cause? Belief? Why should we care? 

“The WHY is what inspires others to take action," Sinek says.   

When I first assumed the helm at Commission Junction (CJ) in 2007, our vision/mission was, “to be the number one affiliate marketing provider - on behalf of advertisers and publishers - worldwide.” Great goal - and one that I like to believe we achieved during my tenure - but, it failed to represent the company’s purpose. I quickly learned that CJ employees were desperate for the WHY. To work for and towards something bigger than themselves and their areas of responsibility. 

“To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” 

This is Facebook’s mission statement. It represents their beliefs. Cause. Purpose. Their goal of connecting the entire world to the Internet is just one initiative that supports this belief. The entire world! More people, more product users, of course. When the WHY is right, it serves as the eternal, guiding light for all employees as they plan and execute towards the future. What to do. What not to do. 

Another great example, and one that Sinek repeatedly references in his book, is Apple. Yes, they build beautiful products. But, WHAT they do and HOW they do it is not much different than the likes of Google, HP, Samsung nor Microsoft. Some may argue that Apple’s products are inferior to those of the competition! As one of their loyal customers, I ask, how did they garner such a cult-like following? 

With the 1984 launch of the Macintosh computer, Steve Jobs was driven to challenge the status quo. The status quo being big brother IBM. Big Blue’s mantra, big computers for big companies. Jobs battled back with, all men, women and children should - and could - possess their own and "one that they could lift." Personal freedom. Power. We wanted to be part of the revolution! We too believed in challenging the status quo. Thinking differently. By buying billions of Apple products, we not only joined the cult, but created the number one technology company in the world. 

As Sinek states, “people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.”

Plugs or no plugs, the CEO didn’t know his WHY and worse, he didn’t care to. I stood in my red dress, extended my hand and said, “good luck competing on feature, function and price.” As I exited the building, I thought to myself, “why Kerri Pollard?” I had some work to do.