Why, How, What (The Golden Circle Model)

Abstract

One of the key things for an organization in regards to doing projects is to establish a strong vision. By establishing the purpose of the project, the vision enables the team members of the projects to collaborate, it gives them a direction and it gives the team members a great opportunity to develop and grow. By having a purpose of a project it becomes possible to answer why the project is being done in the first place.

There are several ways to establish a vision of a project but one of them is by asking: Why? Simon Sinek, a British author and marketing consultant is the person who has developed The Golden Circle Model. This model consists of the questions Why, How and What. According to Sinek every organization knows what they are doing, some know how they do it and very few know why they are doing it. And by why (according to Sinek) very few organizations know the purpose of the things they are doing. As a result Sinek finds that the way unsuccessful organizations think is from outside in (from What to Why). However, the more inspiring and successful organizations think from inside out (from Why to What).