The Four Whys.
Passover - the Jewish holiday that celebrates the freedom and exodus of the Israelites from Egypt - ends this year on Thursday, April 13th.
Now, I was not brought up in a religious home. My father traveled for business every April, so despite being Jewish, we never had a formal Seder at our house.
In fact, I didn’t attend a real, full-blown Seder until I married my husband.
At our house, it was just dinner.
We never read the Haggadah – the Seder narration – that centers around the Mah Nishtanah - the 4 WHY questions and form the focal point of the seder.
“WHY is this night different from all other nights.”
“WHY do we do this and not that?”
Our Four Questions were faulty: “What’s to eat?” “What’s to drink.” “What’s for dessert.”
And “Are we done yet?”
We were WHAT ORIENTED. NOT WHY-LEAD.
Judaism is a religion of perennials questions.
And WHY is a biggie.
WHY IS essential to the world of branding
While what is about product.
WHY is about ideas.
WHY is about understanding.
According to author and motivational speaker, Simon Sinek: Every company knows what they do. That’s table stakes.
Some know how they do what they do.
But few people or companies know WHY they do it.
WHY is the reason people buy your what.
All great brands – from Apple to Nike to Airbnb - Start with WHY.
They not only start with WHY – but they keep their WHY.
They stick to it religiously.
Now, given that my sister-in-law is a Cantor, I’ve become well-versed in the whole megillah (Yiddish for every aspect) before and after the Seder that starts with “WHY”.
So, in the spirit of Passover, here are the four questions I’ll be asking @MarkPolson’s class @FIT Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management
School of Graduate Studies tonight.
1. WHY this?
WHY should your company exist?
WHY is your idea the greatest thing since sliced bread?
WHY is it a problem and who it is a problem for.
WHY will your solution change the world????
WHY doesn’t your idea already exist?
2. WHY you?
WHY are you smarter than the average bear about this topic?
WHY do you know more about your customers and their needs than anyone else?
Have you experienced the problem first hand?
Victoria Watts created the CyR.U.S. of raised universal symbols after watching her young son navigate his blind world. Then she worked with the Lighthouse for the Blind to develop her idea. Talk about street-creds!
3. WHY now?
If you’re too early, your brand won’t get off the launch pad.
“A lot of times, products launch too early before the market is ready for mass adoption of these products,” writes Alex Iskold, VC and Managing Partner 2048 Ventures.
In the early 90s, my creative partner and I created a teen brand named Birgitta Q for Cover Girl. Despite being “As fabulous as French Fries and French Kissing, it bombed. Nobody wanted to talk to teens. They were persona non-grata in the marketing world.
Fast forward a few short years and the WB Network recognized the power of this burgeoning audience. Suddenly, everybody was fixated on teens.
We created Jane Cosmetics targeted to teens and No such thing as a plain Jane became the darling of the beauty industry. So much so that right after launch The Estée Lauder Corporation scooped it up to become the first (and last) mass brand in the company’s portfolio.
Timing is everything…And being early doesn’t guarantee success.
Conversely, as Iskold goes on to say: “If you are just launching something today, that is trying to solve a problem that exists today, you are likely already late to the market.”
By the time you will have a solution, the problem may no longer exist or someone who started much earlier will beat you to the punch.
4. WHY will your idea be successful?
WHY is your business plan rock solid.
WHY will your vision resonate and more importantly, stay relevant over time?
Finding your “WHY” is a process of discovery.
Answer these four WHY’s you’ve got the start of a terrific brand.
As Passover comes to a close, I’m inspired by the words of Rabbi Dena Shaffer:
“May we embrace the attitude of inquisitive curiosity that Jewish tradition encourages, and may we remember that it’s okay to not always have the answers, as long as we’re asking the questions!”
Keep asking yourself WHY.