Learn about Simon Sinek's theory on how great leaders inspire people to take action, to create content that inspires.

1. Simon Sinek's theory on how great leaders inspire people to take action
Blog Post by Mindy Service | Content Marketing

2. The author and inspirational leader Simon Sinek has an interesting
theory on how great leaders inspire people to take action that can
apply to content marketing. He calls it the golden circle theory. The
golden circle has three rings: “what,” the outside ring, “how,” the
middle ring and “why,” in the center.

4. The Golden Circle Theory Explained
Typically, companies operate from the outside in: “what,” describing a product or
service —> “how”, explaining how they create the product or what makes it so great
—> “why,” the pitch to buy the product.
He explains that inspirational leaders and companies do the opposite – they
operate from the “why,” telling first the story of what motivates them as a company,
not about the product. And this belief might be something that is impactful,
meaningful, transformational for the consumer.

5. Examples of how "why" inspires people
Sinek gives the example of the first people to take flight in an airplane. There was a man
who was attempting to take flight - who gained a lot of publicity, money and status
surrounding his attempt at being successful at flying.
And then there were the Wright Brothers, who had nothing close to what might be a path
to becoming the first people to fly. What they had was the belief that they could put a
vehicle into the air and change the world, and they were able to do it with little money and
engineers.
If your “belief” or “why” is powerfully moving enough for the consumer or the audience,
you have the potential to make an impact. Sinek is saying then you have the potential to
succeed. He uses another of example of how Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a
Dream,” speech drew thousands by word of mouth, without advertising, websites, news or
media.

6. “The goal is to have your
customer believe what you
believe, and/or hire people
who believe what you
believe.” -- Simon Sinek

7. How defining "why" applies to content marketing
People want a sense of belonging and want something to believe in. And yes, they
may need a new computer or whatever product you are making, but they want to
feel like they a part of something.
“We want to be inspired, and those that start with why can inspire.”

8. Start applying the theory to your content
● Define what the “why” is. It may be your existing mission statement, or needs
to be defined or redefined.
● What are some benefits of your “why”? Use these benefits as part of your
content messaging. For example, if your why is transforming the food system
the benefits might be that you source organic ingredients, or you keep track of
all the policy updates on organic certifications and technology.
● Create a strategy or list of possible content ideas such as videos, blogs and
social media posts dedicated to the “why.” Some of the posts should have
nothing to do with product at all, and only aim to inspire.
● Think about how your audience can become a community that constantly
returns to your content to get inspired.

9. THANK YOU
Sources: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en