Simon Sineck is known for urging businesses to rethink their very starting point by asking “why does this company exist?”
Emotive branding embraces this notion through an essential part of the Emotive Core known as the “Driving Idea” – a memorable and compelling statement designed to lift the spirits and focus the efforts of the enterprise.
Unlike the “meaningless mission statement”, the Driving Idea connects meaningfully to the core needs, beliefs, interests and aspirations of the people vital to a brand’s success.
Written in simple, human language, the Driving Idea is a practical and useful tool.
It inspires people to develop new skills.
It triggers people to redesign products, processes and procedures.
It serves as a goal post for new ideas.
It centers everyone around a credible, achievable and noble ambition.
It provides a powerful “why” that takes the enterprise’s thinking beyond the realms of “what” and “how”.
The Driving Idea isn’t just another “file and forget” tactical campaign slogan; it is the foundation for a new way of being.
It is an enduring platform for meaning which lifts emotive brands above all others.
Perhaps Antoine de Saint Exupéry said it best when he wrote:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
