One of my major motivators for joining the MA course was to become better at business management and finance. Our performances are PTA funded and profits are ploughed back into future projects. With a volunteer treasurer punching the numbers I have been «getting away with it» for too long!
Being aware that I am much in need of CPD in business and finance I can’t deny the panic that washed over me when i saw the amount of content for this week. Despite my concerns, the shared online learning came into its own as another student contacted me and one other student to work together on the «learning from failure» task. I have been posting and commenting regularly on the forum discussions, and this proactivity paid off such that I was able to experience working in a group using the big blue button; experience that will be invaluable as we head into future modules. Although this week’s content is intense there is also very much practical help which i can come back to time and again. The content has also sparked a «lightbulb moment» about the essence of business, and about my own entrepreneurial potential.
«People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it»
Simon Sinek, 2010
I have always thought of business as a science, concerned as it is with numbers and profits. There can be no doubt that good financial management is “necessary and vital” (Shone and Parry 2013: 162). Nonetheless this week has taught me that there is also an art to business, and that the human questions of our values and «why» we do things, and the ability to communicate these, are defining factors in business success. Brian Finch’s thorough and practically structured book on business plan creation (Finch 2010) provides a useful framework for building the plan and advocates considering «why» someone will buy from you. Sinek’s Golden Circle theory (Sinek 2010) moves the focus of the «why» to the business not the customer, arguing that businesses should look past rationality and practicality and communicate why they do what they do, using these core values to share a message that resonates deeply with potential customers. Dominic Monkhouse develops the golden circle theory by adding a «who» to the centre, arguing that you should be targeting your why towards your core customer. (Monkhouse 2022) Sinek and Monkhouse are both using human connection and empathy as tools to engage on a deeper level with the «right» customers.
Using SMART goals (Doran1981) to keep myself accountable as I develop my mathematical and strategic abilities I can also make use of my personal strengths in human connection, empathising with the customer to create value propositions that resonate.
The business model canvas (Ostenwalder et al. 2010) has helped me to see connections between the science and art of business and given me new confidence that business skills aren’t just for «other people» but that maybe I too, have the potential to succeed in business.
As this week draws to a close, I am genuinely surprised to find myself excited about exploring this further, and perhaps by the end of the MA I could even find my inner entrepreneur!
Cover image: Author unknown, Pexels free photos (via WordPress).
References:
SINEK, Simon. 2010. Start with why-how great leaders inspire action” [TEDxPugetSound]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA [accessed 12 October 2022].
SHONE, Anton and Bryn PARRY. 2013. Successful event management: a practical handbook. [e-book] Andover: Cengage. Available through Falmouth University Library.
FINCH, Brian. 2010. How to write a business plan. London: Kogan Page.
MONKHOUSE, Dominic. 2022. Why Simon Sinek is fundamentally wrong. Monkhouse and Company. Available at: https://www.monkhouseandcompany.com/blog/why-simon-sinek-is-fundamentally-wrong/ [accessed 21 October 2022].
DORAN, G. T. 1981. “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives”, Management Review, 70 (11), 35-36.
OSTENWALDER, Alexander, Yves Pigneur and Tim Clark. 2010. Business model generation: A handbook for visionaries, gamechangers and challengers. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Rachel Mills 