Business is a Social Science – Simon Sinek
I recall as kid growing up with a father who studied science but spent the majority of his working life as a marketer, he would say to me “you have to understand science so you can understand the mechanics of how things work, but you must also understand people because you’re never going to solve all your problems on your own.” The sentence seemed to borrow from both his left and right brain, the logical side of his thinking and the emotional. It was a firm belief of my father that at the core of marketing was the ability to understand people. However I’d extend that further. I’d say at the core of business is your ability to understand people. That is not to say you need a psychology degree, understand theory or the philosophy of human behaviour but you must be able to understand the people in your sphere.
In your sphere are your buyers, your staff, your community and your family.
As a business owner, whether you are providing a service or selling a product, you are fundamentally solving a problem for someone.
To be invited to solve the problem, you need to have the ability to build trust. To build trust you need to show you understand a customer’s situation, they need to understand you and that you have the tools, products or resources solve their problem.
And as your business grows you will then need people around you to share the same passion for solving the problems your business services. As a result you need to build trust with your staff to maintain service standards, to contribute knowledge, innovate and enhance your products and services over time.
Simon Sinek who is famous for popularising the concept of “the golden circle” says a critical element of success for any individual is the ability “to amplify your strengths and surround yourself with the people who can do what you can’t do”
Below Simon Sinek delivers a speech on the importance of trust and authenticity in business, the social science of business
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