neocortex vs limbic system

I came across a very interesting concept from Simon Sinek’s book ‘Start with Why’. It revolves around something called the golden circle which consists of 3 concentric circles. The innermost circle depicts ‘why’, the mid-circle depicts ‘how’ and the outer circle depicts ‘what’. He basically states that a consumer really buys the ‘why’ of the company rather than the ‘what’. The ‘why’ of a company represents what the company stands for and why it exists in the first place. Mission-driven companies that consumers can truly resonate with have a very powerful ‘why’. The ‘what’ refers to the actual product and its functionality. While the ‘what’ is definitely important, it is the ‘why’ of a company that truly gives it a competitive edge. The neocortex is the rational and analytical side of our brain and the ‘what’ of the company appeals to this side of the brain which is concerned about the functional and monetary value that can be derived from a product whereas the limbic system is the emotional side of the brain which responds to something intangible to the consumers and is concerned with social and psychological value which can be derived from the product. The limbic system is a more dominant force for driving human action as compared to the neocortex due to the nature of evolutionary hardwiring. The ‘why’ of a company incites loyalty and creates a lasting hook in the mind of the consumer which creates differentiated and lasting value as compared to the ‘what’ which provides value that eventually gets commoditized at a later point in time. Apple is a popular example of a company that perfectly fits in the Golden Circle framework, having been able to unlock a large amount of additional value on top of the functional value i.e. the ‘what’ provided by its products by focusing on a deep sense of ‘why’ as a company that primarily exists to change the status quo and marketing it as such to consumers making them feel part of movement larger than themselves.