Finding Your WHY Concept, Developed By Simon Sinek, Helps Define The Purpose That Drives You To Do What You Do.
What sets apart successful businesses from unsuccessful ones? Why does one celebrity become more famous than another talented star, or why does one brand get more followers then the plethora of others selling the same thing? It’s because people are not following what they do, they are following why they do it.
Simon Sinek, best-selling author of Start With Why, introduced this concept in 2009 with his TED Talks presentation, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”. He created a theory that companies and people who are truly innovative and gain a loyal following achieve this because they focus on why they are doing the work they do, not what they are doing it on. You must first ask yourself why, before you dicuss how and what.
Let’s bring this back to you. How are you feeling about your career? Are you having difficulty building a client or customer base? Have you really considered, or truly believe in, what your pitching, or selling to others? People don’t buy what they do, they buy why you do it.
What Is Your “AHA” Moment?
In 2009, I was running three inter-related small businesses all under one roof, a custom home automation company that created lifestyle experiences through technology. Although we followed a uniform set of values and structures, each company was an entity unto itself, with dedicated teams and slightly differing mandates. As the leader, it was my responsibility to continually find, refine and effectively communicate the glue that kept the entire group aligned, fulfilled and paddling in the same direction.
Start with WHY became my “aha” moment for the entire team. Customers didn’t care what we were doing because lots of people provided similar services, but they did care why we were doing it and why that made us different. As we engaged deeper into the process, we made a wonderful discovery – all three companies were connected by a deep desire to connect people, to create mastery in design and skill, and feel a sense of pride in our award-winning product.
This was a magic moment for us. Starting with WHY became our compass, and led us to service our customers better, expand our reach and support our growth.
The Questions To Ask Yourself.
Sinek inspired a call-to-action. Why do you get up every day and do what you do? Why did you care? Why does your team care? These are important questions to explore and the answers are essential towards uncovering your separation from the masses.
There is a wonderful quote from Rumi that reads, “What you seek is seeking you”. It means that your true meaning is right in front of you. Trust in yourself and you will find it was there all along.
A few years ago, a new client of mine, who was making shifts in her own business world, showed up to a meeting, placed a copy of Find Your Why in front of me and asked, “Will you help?”
How Do You Move From “What” To “Why”?
Find Your Why, is Sinek’s follow-up to Start With Why and the “practical guide to discovering your purpose,” whether as an individual or as a team. The role of the “partner” during a WHY discovery process, Sinek explains the book, is that of an active listener and note taker. You are there to help guide the individual and I could not have been more excited to partner in my client’s WHY journey.
I began by recording important comments, stories and feelings coming from my client. We identified repeated threads and themes as she shared her life experiences with me. I asked open ended questions, such as, “What about that experience matters to you?” and, “How did you feel when that happened?”.
Then, I focused on how these stories impacted her and what contribution she provided. We began moving the information she gave me from “facts” to “meaning” in her life and how these necessary pieces uncovered the key details that would eventually lead to her WHY statement. This led to a profound moment, allowing her to move forward in her journey with direction and clarity.
It was also a profound, fulfilling moment for me. Through helping my client, I found the “glue”, the thread that seamlessly, effortlessly integrated everything I was doing, and had been doing and planned to do moving forward. I discovered my own WHY in this chapter of my life.
Creating Your Own WHY
Steve Jobs said, “Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things”. You may have a 100 good ideas, but only one of them will get you to where you want to be. Innovation requires loyalty to the why in your business.
Before you undertake anything, ask yourself, does this align with my WHY statement? Does it serve my purpose?
Having trouble defining your why? Our course, Finding Your Why, helps you to define your purpose and what drives you to do what you do.
You will receive guidance and instruction from business coaches Betty Hasker and Glorie Averbach in creating the details of your own WHY statement.
You’ll leave this course with:
- A Finding Your WHY Template
- Examples of WHY statements
One of my favorite quotes, attributed to both William Shakespeare & Pablo Picasso, reads: “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away”
Knowing your WHY answers both sides of that statement. It provides the path.
Are you ready for the journey? Register for this course here.
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