Find Your Why: a practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team pdfdrive com

CHAPTER 2
Discover Your WHY
An Overview

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The work world is tough: Wake up, go to work, deal with the boss (or if you are
the boss, deal with everyone), make money (ideally to make more this year than
last year), come home, manage personal life, go to bed, wake up, repeat. That’s
plenty to deal with every day. Why get fancy (and waste time) by trying to also
understand why you do what you do? The answer to that question isn’t fancy; it’s
simple. Whether you’re reading this as an entrepreneur, an employee, as a leader
of a team or a division or you want to tackle the WHY of your entire
organization, discovering the WHY injects passion into our work. This is not a
formula for success. There are many ways to be successful (by traditional
metrics); however, the Golden Circle is a tool to help us achieve long-term,
fulfilling success.
If you’re an entrepreneur, discover your WHY so you can communicate
what is singular about your company to your employees and clients or
customers. For example, Apple may not always sell the very best products—
ahem, battery life—but if you’re someone who wants to “Think Different,”
you probably swear by Apple on an emotional level you’d never experience
with, say, Dell. And knowing your WHY makes it easier to hire the right
people. Every entrepreneur wants a staff of true believers, but how can you
find those people if you aren’t clear on what, beyond hard work, you need
them to believe in? If you know your WHY, you can hire people who believe
what you believe, which is a much stronger motivator than money. Knowing
your WHY is the secret to hiring for “fit.”
If you’re an individual employee, like Steve, the light-steel salesman who sat
next to Peter, knowing your WHY refreshes or renews your passion and
connects you to your company’s WHY. And should you and that company
ever part ways, clearly understanding your own WHY will be an invaluable
tool to help choose your next job: a company where you’re more likely to
“fit,” succeed and feel fulfilled.