By Dr Wilfred Isak April
How do we explain when others within the same business industry are able to achieve things that seem impossible? Why is ‘Apple’ more innovative year after year than any other company yet they are just a computer company just like many others? Look at small successful start-up business like ‘Amushe’ that is very similar to many failed start-ups in Namibia.
All enterprises whether international or local have the same access, same agencies, and same media or at times use the same consultants, but how come some outdo their competitors? This brings us to a much broader, but a very critical question: Why is it that Martin Luther King led the civil rights movement? He was not the only black person who suffered. Why him?
These unique and inspiring entrepreneurial leaders have one thing in common. They think, act and communicate in the exact same manner, then most of us. In simple terms when we talk of inspiring action as an entrepreneurial leader there are three core and distinctive questions.WHAT, HOWa nd WHY?
These three questions can also be referred to as the golden questions as they can exactly tell us why some entrepreneurial leaders inspire while others cannot.
Every single organisation or entrepreneur knows what they do, that is almost 100 percent. Some know how they do it, but very few entrepreneurs know why they do what they do. Why is that the case readers? I am, however, not implying that the sole purpose of a business should be profit. That could perhaps be the end result and I know for some business owners it is a crucial factor. By WHY, I mean what is your purpose as a business in Namibia? What is your cause or belief or why does your organisation exist? Why should anyone care about your business at all? As a result of the way we communicate from the outside to the inside, our business ideas go in vein.
We seem to start from the clearest things to the things we think are difficult. However inspired, entrepreneurial leaders and organisations regardless of their industry or size, communicate from inside out (from why to the what?). A computer company might say: we make great computers, they are beautifully designed and user friendly. Would you like to buy one? Some readers might say “yes why not?” A salesman might say here is our new car, we have a better gas mileage or leather seats. Would you like to buy our car? That is really not inspiring at all. ‘Apple’ and ‘Amushe’ believe in challenging the status quo, in thinking differently. The way these companies perhaps challenge the status quo is by ensuring that their products are beautifully designed and user friendly. Apple just happens to make great computers while Amushe, a Namibian small start-up just happen to design great logos or brands. People usually do not buy what we produce or sell. They want to be convinced why we do what we do. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.
None of what I have just said in the previous paragraphs is my own way of thinking. It is deeply rooted in the theory of biology. Think about your own brain. It is broken into three core components, and your own brain illustrates clearly what we have just discussed. The neo-cortex corresponds with ‘the what’ level, which deals with rational and analytical thought and language. The middle two levels of the brain are responsible for feelings, trust and loyalty. When we communicate from the why to what we are directly using that section of the brain which will control behaviour and allow us to rationalise everything. We follow those we lead not for them, but for ourselves. It is important that those who lead must inspire us, and always ask why?
*Dr. Wilfred Isak April is a UNAM Graduate and holds a PhD- Entrepreneurship (New Zealand). He Entrepreneurship & research Methodology at the University of