Trust is a gut feeling--it exists in the limbic brain and can’t be rationalized. That’s why we trust companies certain companies even when things go wrong, and mistrust other companies even though they do everything right.
And when people trust a leader or organization, they place a higher value on it. Sinek defines value as “the transference of trust,” meaning value is the result of people trusting in you, your product, or your company.
Consequently, you can’t rationally convince someone to trust you. You have to earn that trust by showing them that you share their values and beliefs. That happens when you clearly communicate your WHY. Once people trust you, they will follow you willingly.
Trust is important because it’s also the foundational building block of culture. Culture emerges when a group of people who believe and value the same things unite around those shared ideals. When we are around people who think like us, we start to trust them.
On an individual level, we form communities with people who share similar beliefs, values, and ideals. In other words, we form communities with people who share our WHY.
Consequently, those with strong WHYs tend to attract like-minded people and create a sense of belonging. That’s why companies with strong WHYs tend to have strong cultures and high levels of trust, both internally and externally.
In turn, being in a community of people who are there for the same reasons builds trust. We believe that someone who shares our beliefs is also more likely to have our back and not take advantage of us.
In turn, having trust allows people to take risks.
The feeling of trust is located in the limbic brain (our emotional center).
That’s why personal recommendations from people we trust hold so much power: it taps into our limbic brain. When we trust the person, we’re more likely to follow their recommendations, even if they seem illogical.
Trust beats out rationality. The trick to inspirational marketing, then, is to activate networks of trusted people to talk about you and your company. (More on trust and marketing in later chapters.)
When a group of people with similar beliefs have a cause, challenge, or goal to chase creates a strong sense of teamwork. This gives employees something to work toward, which is how great ideas happen.
This is very different from average companies, who just give people things to work on. In these situations, people do their jobs and nothing more.
It’s the job of a great leader to create an environment where inspired work can happen.
Great leaders create strong company cultures where everyone works toward the same goal. They inspire employees to believe and pursue WHY instead of WHAT.
There’s a parable of a man who comes across three bricklayers working. He asks the first bricklayer what he’s doing; the first bricklayer grumbles, “I’m laying bricks.” He asks the second the same question and gets the reply, “I’m making money.” Lastly, he asks the third bricklayer, who replies in awe, “I’m building a cathedral.”
All three men were doing the same work. The first two men had a job. The third had a calling.
By starting with WHY, you give your employees a cathedral.
An inspired team shows many benefits, including:
Building an organization that’s based on trust starts with the hiring process. When you have a strong WHY, you can find employees who are also passionate about your mission.
The trick to building a tribe based on inspiration is to look beyond a résumé. Don’t just hire skilled people that you then have to motivate. Instead, hire motivated people who believe in your WHY, and inspire them.
Hiring the right people often has a flywheel effect - the more people you bring on who fit your culture, the easier it is to recruit people who also fit the culture, and so on.
Here are two real-world examples that show the effects of hiring employees who believe in your WHY:
In the 20th century, Ernest Shackleton set out to cross the Antarctic. He put out an ad for this unprecedented journey: “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” This attracted only people who loved the WHY and could endure the pain.
Shackleton didn’t ask for his WHAT: “Men needed for adventure. 5 years experience required. Must know how to maintain ship and pitch tents.”
He and his team of twenty-seven men ended up stranded in the Antarctic for ten months when their ship, the Endurance, sank. Remarkably, no one died, because Shackleton hired inspired people.
In the 1970s, Southwest changed their flight attendant uniform to hot pants and go-go boots, and the only people who applied for the job were cheerleaders and majorettes.
That ended up being a perfect alignment to Southwest’s WHY, since they were also cheery and uplifting. It was a perfect fit with Southwest’s commitment to fun. As a result, Southwest started actively recruiting majorettes and cheerleaders to be flight attendants.
Continental Airlines was largely considered one of the worst airlines in the United States in the 1980s. Without a clear WHY, the company made decisions that were expedient, not correct. That led to employee exploitation, which destroyed employees’ trust in their company and leadership. In turn, employees mistreated the customers. Continental Airlines’ company culture was miserable, and the airline was in a downward spiral.
When Gordon Bethune became CEO in 1994, the company had just lost $600 million and ranked last in every measurable metric.
Bethune could see that the company had no culture and no common vision. So he decided to fix Continental by creating trust between the company and its employees. Some of the ways he did this were:
The year after Bethune took the reins, Continental posted a $250 million profit. And under Bethune’s leadership, Continental would go from being one of the worst airlines in the United States to one of the best.
And it all happened because Bethune focused on earning trust. That trust created a company culture where employees felt protected and inspired, which led to incredible success.