Inspired by Simon Sinek and his book Start with Why

“Why is it that some people achieve great things and some fail miserably doing the same things the same way? How is it possible when their WHATs and HOWs are the same? “

Over the last 25 years, I participated in countless strategic meetings, prepared countless number of plans, KPIs, graphs, reports, reviews, assessments and whatever else was required or whatever else I thought was right. All those years I would hear words like “efficiency”, “continuous improvement”, “cost reduction”, “performance”, “return on investment”, “value for shareholders” and above all “growth”. These words were my mantras too. I have witnessed or experienced failures despite the right trends and results showing in the performance indicators. It is more complex than that, I know, but I worked for some very good and successful companies and yet the outcomes seemed just OK. Why is it then that some people achieve great things and some fail miserably doing the same things the same way? How is it possible when their WHATs and HOWs are the same? 

I thought that I would benchmark success and came up yet with another WHY. Benchmarking very rarely brings the desired outcomes. If all the ingredients are the same, the results should be too, shouldn’t they? So why aren’t they?

These are a few “key chains to success” I came across:

According to Lifehack (1) there are three keys:

1. Writing down your goals

2. Powerful belief system

3. Investment in yourself

Sounds logical. The belief system stands out for me but simply believing in success, in general, does not make any difference.

Sherrie Clark (2), global engineering leader, talks about five keys:

1. Know where you want to go.

2. Take action, don’t wait for someone to give you permission

3. Constantly make improvements

4. Get an accountability partner

Getting an accountability partner is a great addition. I find it so important. Some of us work hard for others but haven’t got as much respect for ourselves.

 The Ascent (3) published five keys. 

1. Determination

2. Skill

3. Passion

4. Discipline

5. Luck

I usually do fine with the first three. Work hard on number four, and five – well… 

Sure, we all need a bit of luck but is it the main reason why two people doing the same thing the same way have different result? 

Remez Sasson (4) offers six keys on his website The Success Consciousness:

1. A Clear-Cut Goal

2. Studying Your Goal

3. Patience

4. Persistence

5. Motivation

6. Confidence and Faith in Yourself

Persistence and patience caught my attention as there are so many stories about people who stop trying just a few steps before a breakthrough.

New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews (5) offers seven keys and explains how to understand persistence as that makes a huge difference:

1. Discipline

2. Persistence without exception

3. Influence

4. Coaching

5. Having a personal mission statement

6. Belief

7. Goal setting

The “without exception” part in the second key means exactly what it says. It doesn’t mean try as hard and as long as you can. It means “never give up”

Globally successful and recognised Sir Richard Branson’s keys dig deeper (6):

1. Don’t measure your success by the amount of money you make.

2. Unplug and focus on face-to-face conversation.

3. Have fun in everything you do

4. Find a hobby that gets you outside

5. Dream big

6. Learn as you go

7. Be fearless in trying new things

8. Make happiness a habit

He is bringing more soul into the mix. Hard to digest for process/result orientated companies and individuals but … for me, it makes perfect sense and I felt I was getting closer to my understanding of success. I was still missing something, though. I could not quite figure it out. Not until I came across a book titled “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek (7). His book has got a dedicated place on my desk ever since.

Simon Sinek looks at people who achieved great things and finds a common thread, the one key. He describes this key as “The Golden Circle” and reveals why these people have achieved greatness. All the other keys must be there, sure, but there is only one key that separates the super successful from the rest - the key of knowing, persistently following and successfully sharing their “why”.

I keep recommending “Start with why” to everyone who is striving to do better in anything. And if you are still not convinced or do not have time to read the whole book right now, I will tell you more about The Golden Circle in my next article.

If you want to dive a bit deeper and learn how to identify your “WHYs”, learn how to use them effectively (inside and out) and get useful tips on how to turn your next project into a success, join us at our “Why you should know your why” webinar. Check the available dates on our Events page.

Resources:

1 https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/3-keys-for-success-life.html

2 https://couragetobeseen.com/accomplishments/4-keys-to-success/

3 https://medium.com/the-ascent/the-5-keys-to-success-997d6a5267af

4 https://www.successconsciousness.com/blog/success/keys-to-success/

5 https://www.andyandrews.com/keys-to-success/

6 https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/331932

7 https://simonsinek.com/product/start-with-why/?ref=home