Finding my WHY

Introduction - Hunger for Inspiration

Having just finished Robert Iger's Ride of a Lifetime, I was hungrily browsing Audible ’s selection of growth-related books, and happened to stumble upon Simon Sinek 's Start With Why. Having read Sinek’s The Infinite Game, I was curious about the rest of his work, and jumped right in. What followed was a journey of personal discovery, leading me to devour both Start With Why and the sequel, Find Your Why. This article is a combination of a personal manifesto and an expression of appreciation to Simon and his team for creating a roadmap that continues to inspire those who engage with it.

Start with Why

The Golden Circle model Sinek uses to demonstrate the concept of WHY is deceptively straightforward at first glance – see graphic on right. The process analyzes the operations of an individual or an organization by exploring what they do, how they do it, and most importantly, why they do it. All three parts are equally important, and need to be in balance for optimal fulfillment.

• Our WHY is our purpose, cause, or belief—the driving force behind everything we do.
• Our HOWs are the actions we take when we are at our natural best to bring our WHY to life.
• Our WHATs are the tangible manifestation of our WHY, the actual work we do every day.

Below, we can review the application of the Golden Circle to 苹果 , well known for their status as a “lifestyle” brand. ?

The WHY

• This is the core of Apple as a brand. Why do they do what they do? What is the inspiration and driving force behind their products and designs? An example of Apple’s WHY can be found below:
• “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently.” ?

The HOW

• How does Apple take their WHY and put it into action? An example of their HOW can be found below:
• “The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly.”

The WHAT

• The outer ring is usually the easiest circle to explain – Apple sells technology products.
• “We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”

Apple’s resounding success stems from the fact that everything they do, from product design to marketing, is driven by their WHY statement. When a brand – or individual – attempts to function by focusing exclusively on their HOW or WHAT, they become disconnected from their core, from the very reason that they were founded and reached their initial success. This disconnect usually does not happen intentionally, or overnight – rather, it’s a process of slowly becoming more and more focused on the WHAT and HOW, leading to an eventual hollow-ness within the individual or organization. To remedy this, one can intentionally make an effort to sit down and discover their WHY. This is where Sinek’s follow-up book comes into play: Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team.

Finding my WHY

Having accepted that I’m in need of discovering my own WHY, I embarked on a journey of self-exploration, following the activities that Sinek’s team spells out for individuals. The process taken is described below, followed by a brief elaboration on the results.

1. Gather stories and share them

This stage can be summarized as the search for an origin story. To discover mine, I shared stories of standout memories – defining moments of my past. These included experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve been influenced by, the lives I’ve touched, and extreme lows and highs. A few examples are:

• Earning my first dollar in a new business venture I’ve been a part of.
• Receiving positive feedback from elementary students that I’ve worked with, encouraging them to pursue futures in the STEM fields.
• Competing in highly intense and physically rigorous athletic competitions, and finishing, no matter how challenging (I finished dead last, but still enjoyed it).
• Receiving my first “A” in an English class, after taking years of ESL to learn English as a third language.
• Feeling intense betrayal in business from trusted partners.

2. Identify themes

In total, 16 stories were shared, ranging from joyful childhood memories to intensely painful burning emotions which still influence how I conduct business today. The most common themes amongst the stories can be found below:

• I find great joy in the taking of calculated risks, such as leaving a stable job and dropping out of a master’s program to start a business.
• Helping others, and seeing my actions positively influence their lives makes me look past any sacrifices made or expenses incurred to reach that point.
• Solving problems fuels me and energizes me at my core. This includes everything from minor issues that arise in daily life, to large systematic conflicts that I can solve with a new business venture.
• I enjoy giving back directly to those who have given to me – ranging from my community to my immediate family.

After hours of analysis and discussion, my themes began to converge. The surviving themes were much more straight forward than I had initially anticipated. Service to others. Analytical problem solving. Tackling overwhelming challenges. Operating in autonomy. Seeing the impact I am making. Finding the limits of myself and of those around me. Building - and working with - the right team.

3. Draft and refine a WHY statement

Now that the themes have been identified, I began working on my WHY statement. A simple and clear call to action, focused on the effect I can have on others, and expressed in affirmative language that resonates with me. The statement needed to be in the format of:

To (contribution) so that (impact).”

The first blank represents the contribution I can make to the lives of others. The second blank represents the impact of my contribution.

As simple as the statement seemed at first, wrestling my themes and stories into a single sentence was a challenge of a magnitude that I had not anticipated. There was an initial draft, followed by a week of analysis. A second draft, discussed with my therapist, followed by a third. The result of several weeks of tweaks can be found below.

To serve and enable others, so that they may achieve their personal maximum potential.

4. State your HOWs

In the creation of my WHY statement, many of my identified themes were left out, leaving me with an initial sense of dissatisfaction. The challenge stemmed from the understanding that most of the themes identified were part of my HOW, not part of my WHY. The resolution came when I accepted that HOWs are not supposed to be aspirational. They do not express who I want to be. They express the ways I actually behave—the things I actually do—when I am at my best. Once this was realized, my HOW statement(s) took shape, and can be found below.

I will achieve my WHY by always tackling the most challenging problems around me.

I will build and lead teams of individuals who choose to share my journey and are travelers going on their own power in the same direction.

I will strive to push myself and my team to discover our limits, never being satisfied with the status quo.

I will maintain complete personal autonomy, and will not commit actions that contradict my WHY statement.

What now?

Having spent over a month pondering my life decisions and searching for meaning, reaching the "final result" did feel a bit anti-climactic. Then I realized that the journey does not stop here: I will continue refining my WHY and HOWs daily, finding ways to put into words the infinite energy that drives me forward. I will use these core statements as filters, helping me decide what commitments I should make, and what ventures I should be a part of. I will cut out everything that does not directly align with my WHY, and will not hesitate to discard the "good" in search of the "great" (thank you, Jim Collins).

Conclusion

There are many books that I consider influential and vital contributors to my journey of growth as an individual. Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People taught me how to better interact with those around me, from my team and clients to my neighbors and family. Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power, my so-called “defense against the dark arts” favorite, demonstrated to me the tactics to be on the lookout for when dealing in the world of business. Lincoln on Leadership, by Donald T. Phillips, inspired me to adapt and apply Abraham Lincoln’s principles on leadership in my personal and professional life alike. However, these books targeted my WHAT and my HOW: what I did, and how I did it. The powerful force driving these decisions, my WHY, remained elusive. That is, until now. Thank you, Simon Sinek , David Mead , and Peter Docker.