"Start with Why" for Game Companies

Why You Create a Company

Game developers are people who want to create games. It's a passionate industry; we make games because we love them, we have game ideas that come to mind, and we want to turn those ideas into real products.

If we have already worked in the industry, we have adopted a lot from existing companies we collaborated with. How production works, what team members are needed for certain types of games.

The goal of creating game companies is often that they have an idea. What's wrong with having a game idea or a portfolio of game ideas and then building a company around them?

The Purpose of a Company

Companies can achieve more if they first define the "Why", and then define the "How" and the "What". These definitions can be described as follows:

• "Why" is the reason and purpose of the company's existence.
• "How" is what differentiates it from competitors; the "HOW" is often given to explain what makes something different or better.
• "What" is a description of the products or services your company produces.

How are they different? "Why" is the reason to buy, while "What" is just a presentation of tangible products as proof of that belief. "What" is the reason we can point to in order to justify why we like one company over another.

Why "What" Can Be Wrong

Looking at things from the video game industry's perspective, people often create game companies based on a game idea.

Apple communicates everything based on its "Why". Apple's "Why" is to challenge the status quo and empower the individual. And the fact that they challenge the status quo is repeated in everything they say and do – that's why people perceive Apple as an authentic company.

Take the example of Creative versus Apple. Creative was much more capable of producing MP3 players, and they entered the market first. But they advertised their offering as "MP3 player with 5 GB," which is more of a "What" approach. Instead, Apple advertised its iPod as "1,000 songs in your pocket," giving us the "Why" needed to make a decision.

Sinek notes that "Why" and "How" constitute our limbic brain and are responsible for all our emotions and feelings, such as trust and loyalty. This brain region governs all human behavior and decision-making. Moreover, these emotions and feelings create associations and kinship with people and organizations that are similar to us and share our beliefs.

Most companies typically start with "What" and "How" because that's what their customers ask for.

Why a Single Hit Game Isn't Enough

Innovation in games has always been around, and hit games have emerged thanks to new game genres.

If a founder stumbles upon a shiny new game idea, they might have a hit in their hands. But how do you build a company around that hit if you want people in your growing company to replicate that success?

Great game companies don't hire qualified people and motivate them; they hire already motivated people and inspire them. Companies with a strong sense of "Why" are capable of inspiring their employees. Such employees are more productive and innovative, and the feeling they bring to work attracts others who want to work there too.

How to Find the Way

To understand the "Why," you need to consider possibilities of how you can help others. How you can make something useful.

If you find something your team can relate to, it can become a guiding mission for the entire team. When you have players, they too will be able to understand what's going on. It will help them feel part of something great.

To understand why you need it, ask:

• Why does your company exist?
• Why do you get out of bed in the morning?
• And why should anyone care?

For a game development company, you can ask additional questions, such as:

• How have games affected your life?
• Does my team have similar answers?
• Can we find from these answers a "Why" that everyone can agree on?
• What small steps do we need to take to unite our players around this "Why"?

Leadership

The difference between the "Why" and "How" types also represents the difference between an organization's vision and mission. The vision is the founder's intention, the "why" the company was created. The mission is a description of "how" the company will create that future.

When both are clear, it helps leaders responsible for the "Why" and the "How" to clearly define their roles in the partnership.

A well-known example is Steve Jobs as the visionary and Tim Cook as the logistician. And you can see a similar dynamic in successful game teams where two people work together with the team to create successful games. You have a visionary game creator and an operator who complements the visionary.

Preserving the "Why"

When companies grow, they start losing the "Why" and become more focused on the "What".

Volkswagen was the "people's car" with its affordable VW Beetle. But what association with VW comes to mind today when they released a high-priced car of enormous value?

Similar examples exist in the game industry, where game developers focus on the "How" and "What" to release hit games.

When company founders start to leave, it becomes even harder for companies to retain any of their "Why". Think about how Apple lost its way after Steve Jobs was ousted, but how after his return the company persevered and became what it is today.

Competition

When you look at competitors and what they do, you can't see more than the "What". If you compete with them, it will always be on the "What" level. Companies simply cannot compete on the "Why" level because it is always so internal and personal.

Those who forget why they were founded gradually start to adopt the "What" and every day they go to the starting line to outdo someone else, instead of outdoing themselves. You are your own best competitor.