I've tried to comment on this 3 times, and in the process, my comments disappear haha 🥲 The why is pretty important haha, but I've experimented with situations where teams were only guided by "I need money to live"; entire companies were guided by this. I struggled a lot with this haha, but I lived other experiences on the opposite side; in the Air Force Academy of my country, I saw a lot of guys who inspired us every day, because we had the purpose principally to fly haha. It was very demanding, and with purpose, nothing feels better haha. Sadly, I think of the final purpose in the army haha, and I think about other things, and I see that I did not want that haha. But thanks to that experience, I discovered what this book says haha. The why is pretty important to lead and to give others the opportunity to share their talents freely.
That is awesome that you have seen both ends of the spectrum. You can totally run an order without a why as you say, it’s just far better if you have one. We are humans that are called to purpose. We crave it.
I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek. His work around purpose is foundational to my current work. And ikigai adds a layer of insight that’s worth understanding.
I’ve written about both through my own experiences.
Today, I’m focused on the under explored middle ring: HOW.
I’m not talking about the how associated with systems, processes, or a company’s unique value proposition.
I’m talking about the power of HOW.
My contention is the how we do what we do — how we lead — is as important as what we achieve.
And I’m on a quest to help leaders turn values that hang on the wall into virtue-driven action.
Man I love this. There is a quote that I love that says ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’ This really hits home and the HOW is so very important. And if you have a solid WHY, skipping the HOW is so detrimental to WHAT you produce. Love to hear more about how you are focusing more on the HOW!
The archery target is exactly right for the Golden Circle. That framework is a target. You aim at it, you practice, and you can miss.
Here's a distinction to consider: the why you aim at is shareable. Millions of leaders can hold the same why. That's what makes it so useful for rallying a team, and it's also what makes it temporary. Project White Glove was a great why. It also had an end date.
In my work, I draw a hard line between a 'why' as Sinek defines it and a purpose.
Look again at your two stonemasons. Both of them know what they're building. The second one knows who he is while he's building it. That's a layer underneath the why, and it's the layer real ikigai works on — not the Western Venn diagram version with passion and mission and "what you can be paid for," which is basically a career quiz wearing a kimono.
Ikigai is expressing your essence and purpose in harmony with whatever you do. It answers three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What should I do? A why only ever answers the third.
The practical form I teach is a one-sentence purpose statement — three verbs, one core value, one vision of impact. Mine is: I encourage, empower, and enable people to be all they were meant to be. Not a job. Not a quarter. Not a project. It works in a boardroom transformation and on the floor with my grandkids, and it did when I was coaching eighth-grade girls' basketball.
And you don't go find it. It's already in there. The work is getting the noise down enough to hear it.
Which is why I want to see what you'd do with this one. What does the target look like when the bullseye is inside the archer?
Oh man. That’s deep and I want to sit with it for a while. The idea that the target sits within us is an awesome extension of the metaphor. I’ll get back to you…that one is gonna sit with me for a minute. 😅
I've tried to comment on this 3 times, and in the process, my comments disappear haha 🥲 The why is pretty important haha, but I've experimented with situations where teams were only guided by "I need money to live"; entire companies were guided by this. I struggled a lot with this haha, but I lived other experiences on the opposite side; in the Air Force Academy of my country, I saw a lot of guys who inspired us every day, because we had the purpose principally to fly haha. It was very demanding, and with purpose, nothing feels better haha. Sadly, I think of the final purpose in the army haha, and I think about other things, and I see that I did not want that haha. But thanks to that experience, I discovered what this book says haha. The why is pretty important to lead and to give others the opportunity to share their talents freely.
That is awesome that you have seen both ends of the spectrum. You can totally run an order without a why as you say, it’s just far better if you have one. We are humans that are called to purpose. We crave it.
I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek. His work around purpose is foundational to my current work. And ikigai adds a layer of insight that’s worth understanding.
I’ve written about both through my own experiences.
Today, I’m focused on the under explored middle ring: HOW.
I’m not talking about the how associated with systems, processes, or a company’s unique value proposition.
I’m talking about the power of HOW.
My contention is the how we do what we do — how we lead — is as important as what we achieve.
And I’m on a quest to help leaders turn values that hang on the wall into virtue-driven action.
Man I love this. There is a quote that I love that says ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’ This really hits home and the HOW is so very important. And if you have a solid WHY, skipping the HOW is so detrimental to WHAT you produce. Love to hear more about how you are focusing more on the HOW!
Thanks. If you're interested in digging deeper, you may find this of interest.
https://alviller.com/im-on-a-quest-lead-with-light/
The archery target is exactly right for the Golden Circle. That framework is a target. You aim at it, you practice, and you can miss.
Here's a distinction to consider: the why you aim at is shareable. Millions of leaders can hold the same why. That's what makes it so useful for rallying a team, and it's also what makes it temporary. Project White Glove was a great why. It also had an end date.
In my work, I draw a hard line between a 'why' as Sinek defines it and a purpose.
Look again at your two stonemasons. Both of them know what they're building. The second one knows who he is while he's building it. That's a layer underneath the why, and it's the layer real ikigai works on — not the Western Venn diagram version with passion and mission and "what you can be paid for," which is basically a career quiz wearing a kimono.
Ikigai is expressing your essence and purpose in harmony with whatever you do. It answers three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What should I do? A why only ever answers the third.
The practical form I teach is a one-sentence purpose statement — three verbs, one core value, one vision of impact. Mine is: I encourage, empower, and enable people to be all they were meant to be. Not a job. Not a quarter. Not a project. It works in a boardroom transformation and on the floor with my grandkids, and it did when I was coaching eighth-grade girls' basketball.
And you don't go find it. It's already in there. The work is getting the noise down enough to hear it.
Which is why I want to see what you'd do with this one. What does the target look like when the bullseye is inside the archer?
Quest well,
David
Oh man. That’s deep and I want to sit with it for a while. The idea that the target sits within us is an awesome extension of the metaphor. I’ll get back to you…that one is gonna sit with me for a minute. 😅
Excellent! Love to hear that something I shared prompted reflection. So much of life is an ‘and’ which aligns with ‘why’ AND Ikigai. 🙏🏻