METHOD
The Human Centre.
A model that puts the who at the center of what a company does, how it does it, and why.
THE ARGUMENT
Why we start with the WHO.
“Fuck the why.”
Simon Sinek's “Start with Why" has shaped a generation of leaders and strategies. The Golden Circle begins with a core idea, the why, and derives what a company sells and how it works from there.
We have spent about ten years on that why. Too often, we find a sentence that sounds good and was written afterward by consultants and agencies. The character of the organization stays hidden, and that is where the potential sits.
When the “why” does not come from within, employees feel little connection to the mission.
A why that shifts with every new leader or market trend makes the culture unstable.
… what we once whispered to the CEO of a leading tech company. Every organization has a reason to exist, and it follows from who the company is or who leads the organization.
THREE PRINCIPLES
How the model works.
Think from the who.
1
A company's culture is shaped by the people who work there and the relationships they maintain with clients. Habits, interactions, and shared convictions define identity and give direction.
Let identity grow from within.
2
Identity does not arrive from above. It grows when employees and customers feel heard and involved. Room for development and co-creation strengthens the culture.
Who you do it for
shapes what you do.
3
An organization exists because of its internal drivers and the value it provides to customers. The customer plays the lead in your story. Focus on who you help, what you offer, and how. The why follows.
THE ARCHETYPES
Our archetype framework describes a company's character. It rests on psychological research and the intrinsic motivations of its people. The statements in the test ask what the main drivers are in your organization. Legacy, systems, and behavior are secondary.
The test works in two steps. Your answers first place you in one of seven clusters. From there, a closer look narrows that down to your specific archetype within the cluster.
Our own DNA is “The Maverick”, even if we wish to be “The Seducer”.
A framework built on what drives people.
RESEARCH
The research behind the model.
We built the framework on established personality and brand-strategy tests, from classics like Myers-Briggs, DISC, and the Enneagram to valuable work by Sally Hogshead, David Miller, and Crystal Knows, and grounded it in the literature on organizational psychology. Every statement in the test was constructed and refined to get as close to the truth as possible. That is also why we are the only test with a dark cluster and archetypes with an edge.
40+
Companies helped to find their DNA and new positioning.
12
Directors moved to tears, hearing their new brand story.
1
Owner confronted with 5 years of avoided decisions.
Which archetype is your
organization?
Take the company DNA test and find your cluster and your archetype.
It takes 10 minutes.