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What is the Golden Circle?
The Golden Circle is a mental model developed by Simon Sinek that outlines a communication concept adopted by successful brands. It explains why the brand does what it does and how it does it. Sinek identifies the main issue as the fact that many companies know what they do, but not necessarily how and why they do it. In his model, the “Why,” or the purpose, is the central starting point. Inspiring brands begin their story with intrinsic motivation, as the question of purpose is becoming increasingly important for brand strategy.
WHY
Why does the brand exist?
HOW
How does the brand achieve its goals – in contrast to others?
WHAT
What is the concrete result and its specific benefit?
The structure of the Golden Circle
The three questions, “Why does the brand do what it does?”, “How does the brand do it?” and “What does the brand do?” are presented in three circles that work from the inside out: On the inside the “why”, on the outside the “what”.
Why – Why is the brand in the world?
At the heart of the Golden Circle is the question of the “Why”, i.e. the brand purpose of the brand. The brand purpose defines why the brand is in the world. It summarizes the business ethics that benefit companies and society. This is formulated first and forms the core of the model. A strong “why” always involves the customers and is characterized by the fact that it defines an overarching meaning.
- A strong “why” refers to the needs of the users or customers and provides orientation.
- It is goal-oriented and future-oriented.
- It provides motivation and inner drive.
How – How does the brand achieve its goals, in contrast to others?
The “How” strategically links the “Why” and the “What” in the Golden Circle. It describes how the brand pursues the brand purpose, i.e. the necessary steps to realize the “why”. This includes unique selling points, values and core competencies that differentiate the brand from the competition.
- A strong “how” describes competitive advantages, i.e. aspects that differentiate the brand from others.
- A relevant “how” integrates valuable features for customers.
- A strong “how” ensures a good, clear recognition value.
What – What is the specific result and its benefit?
The “What” is at the outermost level and defines the specific products or services and their specific benefits. It describes the promise the brand makes to the outside world in order to fulfill its purpose. The “what” thus describes the added value for customers and stakeholders of the brand.
Free template to download
Use our free template to define why the brand does what it does and how it does it.
Golden Circle: Examples
The following examples show how companies use the Golden Circle to better communicate their brand identity, stand out from the competition and attract customers.
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Chanel
Why: To inspire self-powered women to express their elegance and confidence.
How: Blending timeless style with avant-garde design, exceptional craftsmanship, and the finest materials in high fashion, beauty, and accessories.
What: An iconic luxury fashion house renowned for its timeless designs, fragrances, and beauty products, each a symbol of elegance and refined taste.
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Michelin
Why: To give everyone a better way to move forward.
How: Innovating in tire technology, offering high-quality, durable tires to make journeys safer, more efficient, and more enjoyable.
What: A leading tire manufacturer committed to enhancing people’s mobility.
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bumble
Why: Healthy relationships are central to living a positive, productive life.
How: Bumble is designed to help you feel empowered while you make those connections, whether you’re dating, looking for friends, or growing your professional network. On Bumble, women set the tone by making the first move or by setting an opening move for matches to reply to.
What: A social networking app that facilitates dating, friendships, and professional networking.
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MILES
Why: We aim to improve urban life for everyone with sustainable and accessible mobility solutions.
How: Our goal is to become part of everybody’s mobility mix and to improve urban life. To achieve this, we aim for availability, reliability, flexibility and comfort with our vehicles as well as cooperations and partnerships with cities and other mobility providers.
What: We offer our MILES riders a rate and vehicle suitable for every situation. Either based on a km rate or as a daily rate.
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LEGO
Why: To develop children’s imagination and inspire them to think creatively.
How: Inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow through play.
What: The world’s favorite toy brand for plastic bricks.
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Vinted
Why: We want to make second-hand the first choice worldwide to promote a circular economy and reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
How: By providing a user-friendly platform that makes it easy for users to buy and sell second-hand items. .
What: An online marketplace for buying, selling and exchanging everything from clothing to pet supplies to significantly extend the life of goods.
Other possible uses of the Golden Circle in corporate management
The Golden Circle is a versatile tool that can be used in various areas and situations within corporate management:
- Designing meetings: the Golden Circle can help with the design of meetings by providing clarity about the purpose (why), the methods (how) and the expected results (what).
- Project organization and planning: The Golden Circle can also be used in project organization and planning. While typical work assignments often only cover the “what” level, comprehensive planning addresses all three levels.
- Product development: When developing new products or services, companies can use the Golden Circle to ensure that their offerings fulfill a clear purpose and provide real value to their customers by focusing on the “why” first.
Tips for using the Golden Circle
The Golden Circle can be a valuable tool for companies to improve communication, strategy and corporate culture.
Emphasize the “why”
To ensure consistent corporate communication, it is important to communicate the “why” and the goals of the company. Only when the “why” is understood by all employees can the brand be communicated effectively and lived consistently across different areas.
Authentic appearance in communication
The brand can be communicated credibly through an authentic and convincing mission statement. This is perceived positively by both employees and customers and strengthens the brand image in the long term.
Overarching use of the Golden Circle
The Golden Circle can be integrated into various areas of the company, such as brand identity, corporate design and customer communication. The model can be used not only for brand management and the management level, but also for project organization and planning as well as for product development. This makes the Golden Circle a versatile tool that can be used in all areas of the company.
Continuous repetition
It takes time to successfully establish the Golden Circle in a company. Studies show that people often have to read or hear information six times before they can remember it. It is therefore important to regularly introduce the Golden Circle to the team and to present it continuously.
Golden Circle as a guide for decisions
The Golden Circle can serve as a guide for decisions that are in line with your goals. By emphasizing the “why”, decisions can be made that are in line with the corporate strategy.
Continuous development
The Golden Circle is a dynamic model that should be continuously developed. Social, environmental, economic and market-specific changes require a regular review. It is important to continuously adapt the model to the specific needs of the company and the market.
Conclusion
A coherent Golden Circle forms the basis for the strategic and communicative orientation of the brand. The aim of successful brand communication is to convey to potential customers in an understandable and convincing way why a brand does something, how it does it and what added value it ultimately creates. As a brand agency or design agency, we translate the corporate strategy into a consistent and sustainable corporate identity that implements the brand strategy continuously, sustainably and consistently. We are happy to support you in completing the Golden Circle, clearly defining your “why” and successfully implementing it.
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Summarize your brand identity at a glance: With our Brand Frame® template
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The SWOT analysis is a proven strategic method that helps companies to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
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A mission statement formulates the added value of a brand’s services and is an essential part of the brand identity.
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Define for whom and for which needs the brand offers solutions
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Define a specific goal that the brand wants to achieve within a defined period of time.
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Align the social added value, the needs of the target group and your own goals.
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In order to develop a successful brand strategy, it is important for companies to analyze their target groups in detail. The creation of buyer personas helps to create a better understanding of the target group.
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Clarify the Why, How, and What of your brand to form the strategic foundation.
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Define the brand identity on 3 different levels with the identity prism template.
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The brand steering wheel according to Esch is suitable for a systemic analysis of the brand.
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Develop brand values with examples and exercises and define what the brand stands for
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The Unilever Brand Key is a brand strategy model, focuses on competitors and target groups.
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The Bates Brand Wheel captures a brand’s essence in 5 steps, analyzing attributes, benefits, values, and personality to communicate the core identity.
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Define the brand personality: with the Brand Personality Sliders template.
Who, how, what, why, wherefore, why? We are happy to help!
