Why. We have all seen the wonderful thought leadership from Simon Sinek when he introduced the Golden Circle in the Ted Talk that took the business world over. “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” became a best seller. If business leaders were not finding their purpose and their why then they were not leading. I was all-in along with many others. I am still all-in on his thinking…to some extent.
Who. You have detractors to Why. These detractors think the Who is more important. The argument is that you are creating a loyal segment of followers and you should understand who they are. Define who these people are that will buy from you at a maximum profit. This really touches on the concept of customer centricity and some of the work by Peter Fader. You know what…he is not wrong either. They are both right…to some extent.
What. Jim Collins introduces the Hedgehog Concept and asserts the importance of what when going from good to great. What are you deeply enthusiastic about (much like the why of Sinek), what can you be the best in the world at, and what best drives your bottom line? The first business book I read cover to cover. Collins would also assert along with the detractors of Sinek that you do have to have the right people on the bus and who is a critical component. You know what…Collins is correct too…to some extent.
How. To reiterate, the thought leaders around why, who, and what are correct. They are not wrong. I would assert, however, that the “how” of why, who, and what is where so many fail to get it right. Prior to myself coming full circle to this thought process, I was stuck in between thought processes that steer toward placing blame and true ownership of the successes and failures to the extreme denominators.
I had just attended a risk control workshop facilitated by Holmes Murphy where they had invited Todd Conklin. Dr. Conklin made an impression on me that left me conflicted. By asking the questions of why, who, and what I was missing something.
I became convinced that how we do what we do drives down to the core of sustainable success. Our team embarked on a journey to focus on how. We were able to look beyond the surface level issues and understand the context, perspectives, and attitudes that may not be obviously present. By always asking how, a genuine curiosity is present that enables continuous learning. This capacity for continuous learning results in more diverse and inclusive solutions which leads to sustained success.
As if I was not fully convinced, I was introduced to the work of Dov Seidman. I was at the original location of the Half Price Bookstore in Dallas. No intention of buying an actual book and simply wasting time before my next commitment of the day. This book titled “how” just seemed to jump off the shelf. His thinking helped me to verify why I was firmly convinced that how we do anything means everything.
So, being convinced that “why, who, and what were important…as long as how is the primary driver” I have continued to pursue learning in the context of how.