HOW
If WHY is intangible and is simply a belief, then HOW is the process you take to make that belief happen. Once you know WHY, HOW will you bring your WHY to life? HOW's are the strategies, guiding principles or values that inform the path you will take in pursuit of your WHY. They are the road map or the code of conduct to start to move a WHY into something useful and tangible. They are, quite literally, the actions you take or the environment in which you work best.
If we relate this to real life, it comes down to what your morals and beliefs are. Every step that you take in life is guided by your WHY. If you understand your purpose in life, then the decisions you make become much clearer. Let's look at how a business would implement their HOW in correlation with WHY:
- To determine who to hire. For example, does the person fit in with the company's vision? It does not matter if that potential employee is the most talented person in the world, if they do not believe in the same WHY, the company can never be great.
- What investors to consider. Many companies feel that money is money, no matter what the investor believes in. This is false in any great company. The investors must be aligned with the integrity and morals of the company. There is more to an investor than just money.
- Partnerships & Sponsorships. Are you sitting at dinner ready to sign a deal with a huge partner but your intuition says no? This is your gut telling you that the potential partner is not aligned with your WHY. Once again, not all money is good money. Terrible partnerships can ruin a company in the long-run.
As we can see, HOW an owner runs the business determines HOW successful that business will end up being. But what about in everyday life? How can we use the Golden Circle to determine improvement in our day-to-day activities?
Well, let's take a look again at the Golden Circle.
Once we have established our WHY, HOW falls directly underneath. In life, this means that whatever path we set, the HOW is the actions taken to achieve that goal. Let's take a look at the example from Jenny from the previous post. Remember, she wants to be the world's greatest marine biologist. Let us now evaluate HOW the actions that she takes affects that goal:
- The process throughout high school. Jenny, with her goal, is able to easily make decisions on what courses to take during her four years of high school. While her classmates are worried whether or not to take Grade 11 Biology or Physics, Jenny has already predetermined the necessary classes she needs to take. This is HOW she goes through high school.
- The application process to university. She knows that there are only two schools, Princeton University and Boston University, that offer the level of quality that meets the "standard" for her WHY. (more on standards in later blog posts). Therefore, she writes her SAT's with these two schools in mind, flies down to visit the campuses early on in the year and is already emailing back and forth with the marine biology professor. Jenny is extremely focused on getting into these two schools, and so HOW she goes about applying is very orderly.
- Majoring in university and finding a job. Jenny flies through university, acing her courses because of her focus and passion for the subject. She graduates with a degree in marine biology at the top of her class, even though she admits she is just an average-minded student. Her love for marine biology allows her to excel in a school setting. When it comes time to find a job, she has already mapped out the possible employer candidates and has been in constant contact with them. Due to their recognition of her WHY, Jenny receives multiple offers for jobs. HOW she approaches her studies and job application ultimately leads to her success in finding a job.
But HOW doesn't just govern the professional decisions that Jenny makes. It also allows her to easily make personal decisions. Remember, Jenny wants to be the greatest marine biologist in the world. Let's see HOW her decisions affect her personal life.
- Lifestyle Choices. With Jenny so focused on being the best in the world, she refuses to do anything to harm it. This means that drugs, smoking and alcohol are not part of her HOW. Jenny knows that these activities will only hinder herself from achieving her goals. HOW she lives her life directly affects her WHY.
- Personal Relationships. Jenny realizes that she can only really associate with people that also have a WHY. While she can still have casual friendships, her real friends are those that understand what she is going through. HOW she selects her friends and mates are based on their WHY in life.
Seeing that we can easily filter out certain paths in life using HOW, there is only one stage to the Golden Circle left. That category is known as WHAT. WHAT is the result of your belief (WHY) and the actions that you take? (HOW) The next post will deal with the tangible results that are created as a result of the Golden Circle.
