Have you put on your Purple Hat today?

In the 1970’s Michael Hewitt-Gleeson and Edward de Bono developed a system of six lateral ‘Thinking Hats’ – each hat representing a different way of thinking, designed to encourage people to approach a problem or idea in a number of different ways. For instance, the green hat is for new ideas and creative thinking, the white hat for positive thinking, and the black hat for critical judgment.

I believe the world now needs a new hat, and it’s Purple.

Purple is for Purpose; encouraging us to explore the ‘Why’ behind every idea – ensuring that it aligns with our beliefs, values and reason for being. As Simon Sinek pointed out in his inspirational book ‘Start with Why,’ “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” And unless you have worked out the ‘why’ behind your business, brand or concept , and you have shared your Purpose – you will never connect with your audience as deeply as it should or could. That’s why it’s so important to don the Purple hat when you are developing or reviewing your company culture, your brand positioning, your new product or service, and/or your communications. 

And of course it’s not enough just to share your Purpose – you have to connect it to the genuine customer problem that your business, brand or idea was born to solve. Once you do that, magic happens. You are no longer listing 10 problems that your business, brand or idea could solve, hoping that one of those 10 will land with your customer. Now you are making a direct link between who you are (as the creator of the business, brand or idea), what you stand for and why you exist – with what you are here to do for your employees and customers, and how it solves a real problem they have and meets a genuine need.

It’s like the electricity that fires between two synapses in the brain. Once you make that connection with your audience trust goes through the roof. And of course trust is the Holy Grail for the long-term success of businesses and brands.

Make it a habit to don the Purple Hat each day, and see what a difference it makes.

To find out how, visit BrandPurpose.Co.