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Last week, I spoke with an entrepreneur. He develops software and employs several programmers.
We were talking about the WHY or the purpose of a company. He told me he knew his company’s WHY. In the past, he had done a WHY session.
The WHY of a company or an individual is his or her unique positive contribution and its impact on the world.
At the top of the company’s website, you can find its WHY. It cannot be missed. It’s about making users happy, making the world a better place, and the happiness they experience as they grow. Yes, I feel that.
“You know, Freek?” he said. “We know our WHY. Our challenge is WHAT we will do now and how we get all employees enthusiastic about our company’s WHY. “
WHAT should you do now if you already know your WHY?
Sometimes, I wonder, too, what I should and want to do.
Within Simon Sinek’s golden circle, we know the WHY, the HOW, and the WHAT. The latter are the things you do daily and the products or services you deliver. They are the designs, programs (applications), advice, or devices (instruments).
Continue with HOW
According to Simon Sinek’s “Find Your WHY” book, HOW is your strength and the way to WHAT to do. Your HOWs are the activities and actions aligned with your values. They are closely related to your core qualities and your strengths. The HOws express how you behave and what you do when you are at your best. They are simple and practical.
During a WHY discovery journey, many themes emerge. These are recurring ideas, words, sentences, or feelings in the characteristic stories about your life (or about the company). The WHY statement has been formulated based on two themes. The other themes are the basis of HOW.
Examples of my other themes are empathy, connectedness, and positivity. Those are rather properties or characteristics of myself. These are not actions yet. In the next step, I explain what my themes mean to me:
Empathy -> Being able to see the world through someone else’s eyes and perspective and being aware of the feelings of others
Connectedness -> Everyone is connected, and we are all part of something bigger
Positivism -> There is always something good to be found in every situation. Achievements must be celebrated. See the glass as half-full.
Context
Now that I have put my HOW into words, I can strengthen them by adding a short description. This is how I place it in a context and describe what it looks like to me:
Being aware of the feelings of others: I let others know that I understand how they feel
Everyone is connected: I explore specific ways to increase my sense of belonging to others
There is always something good to be found in every situation: I help others see what’s going well for them to encourage them to keep their eyes on the positive.
What should you do?
If you have discovered your WHY and HOW, then WHAT (to do) follows. Often, these are things you already do, and sometimes, they are things you could do more or start doing.
I have been coaching and training others for years. This is closely linked to empathy, connection, and positivism.
Positivism is also about motivating and enthusing others. When I sense discouragement, I try to lift or lighten people’s moods with good stories, jokes, and uplifting quotes. It is up to me to collect them.
I will do something new this week: We are starting a book club with three other entrepreneurs to discuss inspiring books (type self-help). The goal is to share what we have learned and what worked or not. Starting a book club fits well within my HOW in connectedness, where I explore ways to increase my connection with others.
With your defined HOWs, it immediately becomes clear what you should do or not. You can check whether the opportunities and offers that come your way fit within your HOW (your actions that are closely linked to your values). If not, thank them kindly and stay open to new opportunities.
How to get others excited about your WHY
How should you stimulate your employees’ enthusiasm for your WHY? Well, I can write a separate blog about this. The point is to put your WHY at the center of everything. You talk about it all day, and you commit to it.
For the entrepreneur I spoke to last week, this means constantly asking yourself if your users are happy and if you make the world a better place (and know HOW to do it) with your services. It also applies to the type of assignments you take on, how you tackle them, and the people you’re hiring. Also, constantly ask yourself if you are still experiencing happiness with your growth.
You will need to reflect and do introspection, in which you consider your role in the events. Both the owner and the employees need to do this. Then, you communicate how you kept the company’s WHY alive. You can do that during meetings and team retreats via blogs, pitches, or job interviews. It’s about telling stories to excite others to work with you because they feel connected to your WHY.
Do you want this too?
Do you also want to discover your own or your organization’s WHY and HOW and WHAT to do? Contact me or check this page for more information!
WHAT are you doing? What do you do to keep your WHY alive, and HOW do you do that? Let me know in the comment field below. The other readers of this article and I are looking forward to reading from you!
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Have you seen an error in this article? Let me know! I am grateful!
Source: “Discover your WHY”, Simon Sinek
Update: I wrote the original article on April 21, 2020, and it was updated on September 13, 2024.
