Rob Richard, President and CEO
Celebrating a milestone anniversary offers more than a chance to travel; it creates space to reflect. During a recent trip to Germany with family and friends to mark the 25th wedding anniversary for me and my wife, I found some quiet time on the long flight to finally dive into a book that had been on my list: Simon Sinek’s Start With Why. I didn’t realize then how timely that choice would be. A month later, the WECA board and staff began a two‑day strategic planning session to help guide our work for the next three years, all while WECA celebrates its 90th anniversary as the trade association representing Wisconsin’s electric cooperatives.
Sinek’s core premise is simple but powerful: organizations that clearly communicate their underlying purpose inspire deeper trust, stronger loyalty, and more durable success than those that focus solely on the products or services they deliver. His well‑known framework, the Golden Circle, illustrates this through three layers (kind of like a target): Why, How, and What.
Why is the foundation, the bullseye. It is the reason an organization exists, the belief that motivates its work, and the purpose that others can feel and connect with. It is not about performance metrics or profitability. It is about meaning.
How describes the processes and values that shape the way an organization fulfills its purpose.
What is the most visible layer: the products, services, and functions every organization can easily describe.
Sinek challenges the conventional order of these questions. Instead of starting with “What do you do?” and working backward, he argues that leaders should begin with “Why do you do it?” then explain how, and finally what. It’s a reversal that resonates deeply with cooperative principles and with WECA’s long history of service.
Our recent strategic planning session gave the board and staff the opportunity to revisit our own Why, How, and What. Strategic planning is not simply an exercise in setting goals; it is a chance to step back from day‑to‑day responsibilities and reaffirm the purpose that drives our work. It reminds us who we serve, why our mission matters, and how we can best support Wisconsin’s electric cooperatives in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
Sinek writes, “When a WHY goes fuzzy, it becomes much more difficult to maintain the growth, loyalty, and inspiration that helped drive the original success.” That line stayed with me. Not because I think WECA has gone fuzzy. It underscores the importance of clarity—especially for an organization like WECA, which has spent nine decades advancing cooperative values, strengthening local governance, and supporting the member‑owned utilities that power communities across our state.
As staff, we take pride in delivering the core services our members rely upon: education and training, non‑partisan legislative advocacy, communications support, and compliance services. We also take seriously our responsibility to provide trustworthy information to the readers of this magazine. Not every reader will agree with every article or viewpoint we present. That comes with the territory when discussing complex issues. But our most recent reader survey offers a meaningful data point: 95 percent of respondents say Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News is a name they trust. That trust is earned through consistency, transparency, and a commitment to serving the cooperative membership with integrity.
Sinek emphasizes that when organizations align their Why, How, and What, they create the conditions for genuine passion: “Passion comes from feeling like you are a part of something that you believe in, something bigger than yourself. If people do not trust that a company is organized to advance the WHY, then the passion is diluted.” That sentiment captures the cooperative spirit perfectly, and it also captures the mindset of WECA’s employees. Electric cooperatives were built on shared purpose, neighbors coming together to bring power to rural communities when no one else would. WECA exists to support that purpose, amplify it, and help cooperatives navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Coming out of our strategic planning session, I am confident that WECA is well‑organized, well‑aligned, and well‑positioned to advance our Why. We owe that clarity and commitment to our members. And you will continue to see that purpose reflected in the pages of this publication—just as you have for nearly nine decades.