Winnow takes a bite out of Apple's playbook
How Purpose helps to develop a tangible advantage when it comes to employee happiness and commitment, hiring, fund raising, working with customers and developing business partnerships.
An interview with David Jackson, Business Development Manager at Winnow.
In his now famous TEDx video, Simon Sinek states, "There are a few leaders who choose to inspire rather than manipulate, in order to motivate people. Whether individuals or organisations, every single one of these inspiring leaders thinks, acts and communicates exactly the same way. And it is the complete opposite of the rest of us."
When thinking and communicating about their products average companies ask WHAT, HOW and then they might ask WHY.
- WHAT: every company on the planet knows what they do. They can describe their product.
- HOW: most companies know how their product is different or better, what their Unique Selling Point (USP) or value proposition is.
- WHY: Very few companies know why they do what they do. What is the company's purpose, and why should anyone care?
Average companies communicate from the outside of the Golden Circle inwards. Inspiring companies like Apple start their thinking and communication with why.
Winnow is a technology company that works with chefs to cut food waste and boost kitchen profits. They, like Apple, do not start with WHAT they do; rather they start with WHY they do it. Winnow's belief that food is too valuable to waste has nothing to do with WHAT they do. WHAT they do – build great software and hardware solutions – is not the reason customers buy from Winnow either.
Winnow's mission is to connect the kitchen, to help create a movement of chefs, and to inspire others to see that food is too valuable to waste.
I sat down with David Jackson, the Business Development Manager for Winnow, to discuss how the company defined their core belief and how the business benefits from a purpose driven mission.
What is your perspective on start-up company culture?
I personally believe that culture is not given enough attention in most companies. Culture is inevitable, it is "the way of doing things around here", and it just happens. You can choose to define it or not, it is up to you. Defining the culture gives you an extra lever within the business and that is why I believe that it makes sense to invest the time in surfacing and defining the culture.
What makes Winnow tick?
The Winnow team are all extremely passionate about solving the massive global food waste problem. Winnow co-founders Marc Zornes and Kevin Duffy launched Winnow to make a difference and what we are trying to do is make an impact by building a scalable, purpose led business.
How do you utilise your business purpose in the hiring process?
Food waste is such a massive problem that if it was a country it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the US and China. When we recruit we are looking for people who are passionate about solving this global problem. We look for people who think it is important to solve this problem and have the drive to make an impact on the global stage.
There is a lot of talk about purpose in business but today's millennial candidate is not fooled. A company's purpose must go hand in hand with authenticity. Purpose is not just a branding campaign and every business must be able to demonstrate an authentic purpose.
