Why this is a question I bothered my parents with when I was a little girl, here are few things I've learned from this book:
- Great leaders, in contrast, are able to inspire people to act. Those who are able to inspire give people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with external incentive or benefit to be gained.
- People who love going to work are more productive and more creative. They go home happier and have happier families.
- Leadership is the ability to rally people not for a single event, but for years.
- Loyalty is when people are willing to turn down a better product or a better price to continue doing business with you.
- People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.
- Knowing your WHY is not the only way to be successful, but it is the only way to maintain a lasting success and have a greater blend of innovation and flexibility.
- WHY did we start doing WHAT we're doing in the first place, and WHAT can we do to bring our cause to life considering all the technologies and market opportunity available today?
- Our need to belong is not rational, but it is a constant that exists across all people in all cultures. It is a feeling we get when those around us share our values and beliefs. When we feel like we belong we feel connected and we feel safe. As humans we crave the feeling and we seek it out.
- Our desire to feel like we belong is so powerful that we will go to great lengths, do irrational things and often spend money to get that feeling.
- When a decision feels right, we have a hard time explaining why we did what we did.
- The reason gut decisions feel right is because the part of the brain that controls them also controls our feelings.
- Products with a clear sense of WHY give people a way to tell the outside world who they are and what they believe.
Clarity of WHY:
It all starts with clarity. You have to know WHY you do WHAT you do.
Discipline of HOW:
Once you know WHY you do WHAT you do, the question is HOW will you do it? HOWs are your values or principles that guide HOW to bring your cause to life. HOW we do things manifests in the systems and processes within an organization and the culture. Understanding HOW you do things and, more importantly, having the discipline to hold the organization and all its employees accountable to those guiding principles enhances an organization's ability to work to its natural strengths.
Consistency of WHAT:
Everything you say and everything you do has to prove what you believe.
There are many ways to motivate people to do things, but loyalty comes from the ability to inspire people. Only when the WHY is clear and when people believe what you believe can true loyal relationship develop.
“You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.. ”
— Herb Kelleher
The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen. It is the people inside the company, those on the front lines, who are best qualified to find new ways of doing things.
It is not just WHAT or HOW you do things that matters; what matters more is that WHAT and HOW you do things is consistent with your WHY.
The reason so many small businesses fail, is because passion alone can't cut it. For passion to survive, it needs structure.
Every company, organization or group with the ability to inspire starts with a person or small group of people who were inspired to do something bigger than themselves. Gaining clarity of WHY, ironically, is not the hard part. It is the discipline to trust one's gut, to stay true to one's purpose, cause or beliefs.
Simon Sinek books got me to understand and develop Edge Elements and my why. I encourage you to read both Start With Why and Find Your Why.
Happy Reading…