Now that you have completed the initial questions, relating to your foundations to check on where you are right now, where you need to get to and the best way to get there, right now, we can move on to looking in more detail at the core of everything. I am talking about your major reason ‘Why’.
As with all things in life, the more intangible something is the more of a mystery it appears to be and the harder it is for some to fully appreciate, in terms of their own position. That said we will do our very best to give this some clarity for you.
The reason we start with the ‘Why’ is actually very logical and related to the way we all are as humans. You may well be familiar with the theory behind the hierarchy of needs, first published by maslow.
This long-standing and widely used model gives us the fundamental understanding of why it is so important that you concentrate on your true motivations to achieve the success you desire. If we are not fulfilling these deep-seated needs we will never be truly happy, fulfilled and working to our full potential.
maslow’s Hierarchy of Need is illustrated below and we shall very briefly look at this in terms of the subject of your true ‘Why’ for you and your business.
You see at the most basic primal levels what we need has to be covered off first. Only then can we focus on our work needs. This is a point that should be emphasised, we need to cover off our most basic of needs to find happiness and satisfaction. Without this, we may well perform in fits and starts but it will be hard work and over the long game our soul will not be settled, our heart will not be in the work we are doing. We can take this further and say that If we look at each of the needs in maslow’s model we can clearly see the correlation between these elements, your business success and your true reason why.
At the base of the pyramid lies the most important of the elements and in the original model, this was described as the need for all our standard biological requirements for human survival, e.g. air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep. If the human does not have these they cannot function to their optimum. So it follows that when these drivers are not being satisfied we will not be truly happy and there is the possibility of losing sight of things and just doing whatever it takes to get by.
Hopefully, in this day and age, the majority of these basic needs can be easily satisfied. I include in this the safety needs too, which include things like emotional and financial security. much of this in our modern world is supplied by society. But you can see from this model that I also look at financial and emotional security within the three circles exercise, which I will introduce to you shortly. That is because they are without a doubt extremely important when it comes to getting the best out of your own performance.
Next, we have the belonging needs. We feel at our best when we are in a cohort when we belong to a group and for the most part, this is a group that will share our beliefs, desires, goals. So to be in the right group, to attract the right people to your group you need to be true to these fundamental building blocks. That means that you need to be satisfying your fundamental motivators within the cohort that you belong to, or are building. To have the wrong people is to compromise these basic needs and therefore retard performance.
When it comes to esteem needs we are referring to self-worth, accomplishment and respect. maslow further refined these to include esteem of yourself, in terms of dignity, the achievement of mastery and independence. This also includes the need for reputation and or respect from others. To achieve these you need to be fully committed to the course you are navigating and if that course doesn’t come from your deep- seated motivations then this will be an issue when it comes to optimum performance.
The final levels, self-actualisation needs, are the highest on maslow’s model and refer to personal fulfilment and personal growth. To become the best version of you, performing at the top of your game, this level needs to be achieved.
In the real world, this means embracing feedback, embracing learning and focussing on your true motivators and primary reason why. Sadly I have discovered as many others have, far too many people don’t make it to this level. mainly due to a lack of recognition or the pursuit of their deep-seated reason why. The good news is that by your actions you have taken the steps to achieve the highest levels of the model. Picking up this book and reading it is a great start. It shows a desire in itself, all you need to do is make sure it is nurtured and grown.
Where to find your ‘Why.’
When I speak to most people in business who want to get on, I mean really want to get on, really want to make a difference, they all, unsurprisingly, have something in common. They are all innovators, they are all shapers, thinkers, not just doers. They all have a very clear, full colour and vibrant vision for the future.
There is no doubt this is the best and most positive position to hold. However this is not where you are going to find the ‘Why’ we value so highly, the ‘Why’ I believe you should seek, the ‘Why’ you need.
Your true ‘Why’ is a process of discovery and not a process of invention, and you will do well to remember that simple fact. Your ‘Why’ is in you and you need to discover it. Your ‘Why’ lies in your past and in your present and not in your future.
Your future will be shaped by your ‘Why’. This is the reason I am, like many others, pointing out to you the importance of investing time in discovering your true ‘Why’ and then shaping your business around that belief system.
As long as you’re being true to yourself then there is no right or wrong answer to the question, ‘what is your Why?’ It is however worth pointing out that you need to drill down as far as you can to discover your true ‘Why’. Don’t settle for the results that come from your ‘Why’ but the ‘Why’ itself.
“Your ‘Why’ lies in your past and in your present, not your future.”
Chris Batten Author of The 7 C’s of Why
As an ever-popular example, money is, in most cases, on the agenda and we all need to have money in today’s society, but it is all too easy to make that a ‘Why’ rather than what it really is, which is a valued by-product of ‘Why’. Those that have money will also tell you that no matter how much they have it is never enough! money and its generation is in actual fact a by-product of your ‘How’ and is generated because of the actions you take related to your true ‘Why’, so search deeper than this.
Here’s an idea, not new and certainly not unique. When discovering your ‘Why’, use that one word (Why) as your most important question. Let me explain. We can often get preoccupied with what we do and it takes over our thoughts. This often results in when asked ‘Why’, we simply revert to talking about the what and or the how over the true motivating reason behind what it is we choose to do to satisfy the true ‘Why’. So, to avoid this we use the ‘Why’ test, how far can you take it? How many levels of asking why can you get to before you get the ultimate answer?
I enjoy helping others, but that is not my ‘Why’. I love the buzz it gives me when I make a new sale, but that is not my ‘Why’. I enjoy the immense feeling of well-being I get when I help someone in business to learn or improve something, but that is not my ‘Why’. I find writing both challenging, relaxing and enjoyable, but that is not my ‘Why’.
In truth, it would be very easy to stop at any of those true examples and label them as my ‘Why’. That is the point I need to keep on asking the question. You see if I put the question why at the end of each of those accurate examples I get another answer, indicating that the true ‘Why’ lies beneath. This is the key to really creating some clarity over the true reason ‘Why’.
All of the other building blocks of business will effectively hang from this deep-seated and emotionally based reason why. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of getting this part of your foundations right. When this sings and comes from your very core everything else starts to get just that little bit clearer and just a little bit easier. Remember, I did say just a little bit, if it were too easy everyone would be doing it!
The key here is to focus on the ‘Why’ and not the ‘What’. It is also important not to let your ‘What’ take over, which it will often do in your early stages of development. At the beginning of your business development, more people will be influenced initially by your big reason ‘Why’, than they will from what it is you happen to be doing to fulfil the big reason ‘Why’. It is worth reading that statement again, for good measure.
I am sure you have experienced the reality of this at many networking meetings that you have attended. Where individuals are given the opportunity to introduce themselves and spend the entire time given, explaining what they do, without mention of ‘why’. You will also recognise how much more inspiring and attractive you find it when people actually start with their why, followed by how and only at the end and for the shortest of time, the what.
When thinking in terms of developing your true reason why I want you to remember that the more open and honest you are with yourself the better. There is no wrong or right answer, there is only you and what makes you buzz, what gets you out of bed in the morning and excites you, that is what we need to identify.