Leadership Fundamentals (Part 1) :: Start With Why

I had the opportunity this morning to do some leader development. This is something specific that I'm working on for an extended period of time. I plan on sharing much of it here so that anyone who's interested might benefit from it. Most of it will be progressive, in that I'm starting with foundational elements and working into more detailed specifics. I will also be sharing it in more of the rough form that comes straight from my notes in Evernote, rather than a well scripted blogpost. So there might be a bit of interpreting and piecing together for you. That said, I'll be glad to answer any questions or expound on anything that seems unclear. If it's not clear, it's not worth much.

Getting down to business, the beginning point for me in leading - a team, an organization, or even your family - always goes back to one simple question: WHY? (If you'd like more on this, I wrote a blogpost about it a few years ago HERE.) Here are my notes, outline, and scratch work from The Fundamental Question of WHY:

Luke 9:51 

“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem."

From that moment on, Jesus had resolute purpose of WHERE He was headed & WHY He was headed there.

All kinds of things attempted to distract him from this:

Peter - challenging him that he shouldn’t talk that way

People in need - who Jesus chose not to stop & heal/help

Start With WHY

Instead of asking "WHAT should we do?”, we have to ask the questions:

“WHY did we start doing WHAT we’re doing in the first place?"

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘a faster horse’.” -Henry Ford

Apple’s WHY:

"To challenge the status quo & empower the individual."

Apple is defined by WHY it does things, not WHAT it does.

It’s not a computer company, but a company that challenges the status quo & offers individuals simper alternatives. They do it through technology.

The Filter of WHY = PURPOSE

The purpose - the WHY of the decision, event, trip - is not clear. 

This is why the WHAT of the decision, etc...continues to be in flux.

There are people involved who don’t know WHY they’re involved.

Greatest ENEMY of WHY = PEOPLE PLEASING

SOLUTION: Stick to the purpose

REALITY: We begin trying to accommodate 

Accommodation that jeopardizes purpose will kill inspiration & trust

“When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY, trust emerges.” -Simon Sinek, Start With Why

Finding the clarity of WHY is not the hard part. It’s having the discipline & the guts to stick with it and stay true to the purpose.