Welcome to The Lighthouse for Growth, a space dedicated to illuminating ideas that guide personal and professional development.
Today, I want to share a powerful question that’s been echoing in my mind since I first heard it—one that I now pass on to you.
It comes from an exchange between Richard Branson and Simon Sinek. Branson asked Sinek:
If you were starting a business right now, what problem would you be setting out to solve—and why?
It’s a simple question. But it cuts deep.
When I heard Sinek’s answer, it struck a chord with my own personal and professional philosophy. It is one that I’ve been advocating for in my work and classrooms:
Organizations must become more human-focused, not just profit-focused.
In the fall of 2020, I started sharing this thought with students in my International Business class:
In the long run, no business will succeed if its people—its stakeholders—are unhappy, disconnected, or undervalued. Metrics and profits can only take you so far. It’s the human element that determines whether a business thrives or fails.
“In 2018, when I gave my TEDx talk entitled Serving and Leading with a Quality Mindset, I shared how quality begins with how we treat people. That’s relational leadership. That’s essentially empathy. This same principle applies when we decide which problem to solve.”
Sinek’s response reflects that truth. He didn’t just talk about business problems. He talked about human needs. And that’s exactly what we should be doing when we think about starting a business, launching a project, or building a team.
In my TEDx talk, the focus was on how we lead and serve. In this reflection, I invite you to think about why and where you lead and serve.
So now, I ask you the same question in the following ways:
If you were starting something today, whether it would be a business, an organization, a movement, or a social initiative, what problem(s) would you be setting out to solve?
What issues call for your attention?
And why do those problems matter to you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share your answer in the comments, and let’s learn from each other.
You can also watch the brief clip of Branson and Sinek’s conversation here:
🔗 Instagram Video
Originally posted on October 11, 2020 | Updated specifically for this blog: The Lighthouse for Growth.
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