Our why, how and what
Green Soap Company: why do we do what we do and how do we do it?
Success rarely happens by chance. In some companies, employees are genuinely motivated to get the best out of themselves and their organisation. They are happy with what their organisation does and what they contribute to it. According to British author Simon Sinek, the concepts WHY, HOW and WHAT are at the crux of this.
Sinek has defined three levels on which organisations and people function: what you do (WHAT), how you do it (HOW) and why you do it (WHY). According to him, the answer to the third question is the key to success, but remarkably enough it is often left unanswered, which is why real success does not materialise. Every organisation knows what it does, most of them also know how they do it, but only a few know why they do it, what they actually aim to achieve. Making a profit, from this point of view, is at the very most a result, not a goal. It comes down to the question: what are you doing it for?
Green Soap Company: WHY, HOW and WHAT
At Green Soap Company, we have answered the question of why (WHY) we do what we do. Simply because it’s what drives us. But we have also put the WHAT and the HOW down in writing. For our employees, job applicants, interns, suppliers, retail partners and people who are part of our supply chain, among others. In short: for everyone who works with us or for us, or is considering this. Perhaps even for you?
Why?
We want to clean and maintain our homes, our clothes and ourselves in such a way that we not only become cleaner ourselves but the world around us as well. By doing this, we will not only be making a clean house for our own children now, but also a cleaner world for our children in the future.
How?
- Offer products that are sustainable but also feel good to use
- Offer products at a price that a broad public can afford
- Share our knowledge with as many suppliers, customers and competitors as possible so that sustainability is achieved as quickly and widely as possible
What?
We are constantly improving ourselves; new knowledge and technology enable us to take a step forward time and time again.
We work with a flexible team. Sourcing, transport and storage are all done externally, which allows us to scale up quickly and does not tie up capital in fixed assets.
The team is a mix of purpose and profit. We are passionate about what we do, but we also run a commercial operation. And that also keeps us financially independent from donors or lenders.
We are well aware that we are up against the biggest marketing and branding machines in the world. So to be successful, we need to be fast, professional and innovative, in line with our WHY, HOW and WHAT. We always want to play a home game and consequently challenge established brands on the issues we find important.
What sets us apart from other companies?
We breathe sustainability. Everything we do is dedicated to that. This sets us apart from all other companies that ‘add’ sustainable products or brands in order to make some extra money and ‘take advantage of the opportunity’. The good news is: some large companies are starting to follow us, albeit out of purely financial motives, and not necessarily to make the world greener.
Our goal
Our goal is to make the entire laundry, cleaning and personal care market more sustainable. This goal is naturally never-ending, as every time there is another step to take to make things more sustainable and accessible for the consumer. We are pioneers and always want to stay ahead of the market.
WHY, HOW and WHAT: when are we successful?
We want to stay at the cutting edge and we want other companies to keep on following our lead. We want to change the market, not conquer it.
We quantify our results primarily in terms of our contribution to changing the market.
Our profits are for the most part reinvested in the company so that we can make an even greater impact. This allows us to give more and more substance to our WHY, HOW and WHAT.