{"id":38430,"date":"2021-06-12T14:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-12T18:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=38430"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:00:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:00:59","slug":"simon-sinek-just-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/simon-sinek-just-cause\/","title":{"rendered":"Simon Sinek: A Just Cause Fuels Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Does your company have a Just Cause? What is the larger need\u2014beyond the immediate provision of the product\u2014that your business aims to fulfil?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Just Cause outlines the reason you are in business beyond the provision of any one specific product or service. It provides a context for all the decisions you\u2019ll make and inspires people to work hard and make sacrifices because they believe in the cause. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we will take a look at the characteristics of a Just Cause and how a Just Cause looks like in real-world business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is a Just Cause?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sinek defines a Just Cause as a specific<\/em> vision of an ideal state<\/em> of the future that inspires people. Your Just Cause must paint a clear picture that others can see: A promise to \u201cimprove the world<\/a>\u201d doesn\u2019t provide enough substance or specificity to inspire people. According to Simon Sinek<\/a>, a Just Cause has five elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. It stands for<\/em> something, not against<\/em> something: It\u2019s optimistic and hopeful.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. It\u2019s idealistic: It\u2019s inspiring, bold, and ultimately unachievable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. It\u2019s inclusive: It invites and inspires others to join.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. It\u2019s resilient: It can endure technological, cultural, political, and industry changes<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. It\u2019s service-oriented<\/a>: It\u2019s aimed at the benefit of others.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    Panasonic\u2019s Infinite-Minded Just Cause<\/strong>

    Panasonic is an example of a company with a corporate strategy that embodies each of the five elements of a Just Cause. In 1932, the company\u2019s head, K\u014dnosuke Matsushita, laid out a 250-year vision based on the notion that the primary purpose of a business<\/a> should be to increase human happiness. His strategy was to \u201covercome poverty by producing an abundant supply of goods<\/a>,\u201d which would \u201cbanish poverty, bring happiness to people’s lives and make this world into a paradise.\u201d
    This vision stood for<\/em> something, was inclusive<\/em>, was service-oriented<\/em>, was resilient<\/em>, and was idealistic<\/em>. Today, the company\u2019s vision has expanded and includes goals for helping the environment, helping communities, and being responsible. Its Just Cause has powered it for decades and positioned it strongly to face the future. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    1. A Just Cause Stands for<\/em> Something, Not Against<\/em> Something<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A Just Cause does not name something we want to work against<\/em>, but rather, something we want to work for<\/em>. When people work against<\/em> something, they are often filled with some combination of fear and anger. In contrast, when people work for<\/em> something, they are filled with hope and optimism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Working against<\/em> something leads to finite thinking because we focus on specific, known solutions to defined problems. Working for<\/em> something focuses us on the future and opens our eyes to alternative solutions that might bring us to our ideal state in any number of ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example, if you encourage your team to beat your competitors<\/a> by coming up with a better mousetrap, you frame their efforts as a struggle to a specified endpoint. If, however, you encourage your team to think about how homeowners can control disease vectors in their houses, the struggle isn\u2019t framed as \u201cwinnable,\u201d but rather, as something to continually work toward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. A Just Cause Is Idealistic<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A Just Cause must be a big and bold enough idea to inspire people with a vision of the world that they want to work towards. Sinek cites the Declaration of Independence<\/a> as a great example of idealism. Though the interpretation of the Declaration has changed over the years, the words continue to inspire people to reach for an ideal state. Its statement of universal rights was originally intended to protect the rights of white, landowning, Protestant men, but was soon applied to other groups\u2014even George Washington discouraged discrimination against Catholics and later, the Constitution was updated to protect the rights of many others, including African Americans and women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The ever-changing nature of how America is reflected by its founding values illustrates a key characteristic of a Just Cause: Its mission is never fully accomplished. <\/strong>Victories along the way should be celebrated as a glimpse into the future vision of the ideal state the Just Cause espouses, and the Cause should continue to inspire people to work towards it in ever-changing ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. A Just Cause Is Inclusive<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A Just Cause makes others feel included in its mission. People like to feel included in a group, such as a church or a team. A Just Cause that inspires people to imagine a positive alternative future<\/a> can start movements by attracting people to join in with other like-minded believers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to Attract Followers With a Feeling of Inclusiveness<\/strong>

    Sinek is not the only management expert to recommend attracting followers by emphasizing a strong and inclusive team culture. For example, in his book Zero to One<\/em><\/a>, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal) advises you to highlight your unique mission over superficial perks<\/a>. He points out that perks like game rooms and yoga lunches get a lot of press, but to recruit talent to your company over a competitor\u2019s, you must offer something more meaningful: a sense of purpose<\/a> and belonging. Talk about why your mission is unique and compelling. Make them feel they\u2019d fit in and enjoy working with their teammates. Emphasize a common identity, even if that means issuing t-shirts with the company logo. 
    In the extreme, your organization can benefit by feeling slightly cult-like, where the employees are intensely dedicated to serving a greater truth in order to improve the world. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    4. A Just Cause Is Resilient<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A Just Cause can endure changes in the business, political, and technological landscapes. If your company revolves around a specific product, then your organization\u2019s existence depends on those products staying relevant. But if your organization revolves around a Just Cause, you can stay infinitely relevant no matter how the environment changes; you will be able to see how and when your products need to be adjusted in order to continue to serve that Cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example, had the railroad companies in the early 1900s seen themselves as transportation providers, dedicated to moving people around efficiently, rather than as companies that sold train tickets, they might have evolved into car companies during the advent of the automotive industry. Likewise, if music producers had seen themselves as distributors of music rather than sellers of CDs, they might have adapted better to the competitive challenges of digital streaming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Using Vision Statements to Increase Resilience<\/strong>

    Management expert and bestselling authors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras discuss the higher causes driving companies in their book Built to Last<\/em><\/a>, which has the same goal as The Infinite Game<\/em>: helping leaders develop and maintain companies that will stay relevant and overcome years of challenges. 

    Quite a few of their theories overlap with Sinek\u2019s. In particular, their discussion of vision statements offers additional insight into Sinek\u2019s thoughts on resilience<\/em>. 

    Collins and Porras point out that lasting companies have two sides to their vision statements: A core principle<\/em> that gives them an overall mission. A more practical principle<\/em> that directs their actions on a more specific level but can be changeable.

    For example, a company might set out to \u201chelp students learn,\u201d which would be their overriding, larger mission (their \u201cJust Cause,\u201d in Sinek\u2019s terms). On a more practical level, they might have a mission of \u201coffering tutoring services.\u201d As their business evolves, they may change that more practical mission to \u201coffering online video tutorials\u201d or even \u201cmaking documentaries,\u201d and as long as the new direction fits with their core principle, they\u2019re being true to their vision. The stability of the core principle combined with the flexibility of the practical principle increases the company\u2019s resilience.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    5. A Just Cause Is Service-Oriented<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Every company or effort involves both givers<\/em> and receivers<\/em>\u2014people who contribute their money, effort, or time (company leaders, investors, and employees), and people who benefit from it (customers, other citizens, and the wider world). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When a Just Cause is service-oriented, the primary benefits<\/em> of an organization\u2019s efforts go to people other than the contributors themselves\u2014this might be the company\u2019s customers or it might be a worthwhile cause, such as saving the environment or alleviating poverty<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The customers of a service-oriented company feel genuinely cared about or genuinely care about the cause, and as a result, are often willing to pay a premium for that company\u2019s products or services. Thus, in the long run, a company benefits from serving others<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s important to note that service orientation is not the same as charity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n