How to Find Your Why

A book called “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek covered this topic and gave inspiration for this article.

“When an organization is filled with ‘good fits,’ those who believe what you believe, success just happens,” said Sinek.

Sir Ernest Shackleton, who led three expeditions to the Antarctic, including the infamous Endurance voyage back in the early 1900s, surrounded himself with a team of noble and adventurous explorers. On Shackleton’s search for the crew for his voyages, he clearly described the type of people he needed when he placed ads in The New York Times in 1915. He even noted that a “safe return was doubtful,” but he still needed a team of people who would not give up, no matter the circumstances. Despite the disaster with the Endurance when the ship became trapped in the ice, Shackleton was able to lead the crew to safety after camping on the sea ice until lifeboats arrived.

Moral of the story: When surrounded with like-minded individuals, success tends to follow. When employees feel they belong and are important to the organization, they are more motivated to work toward the company’s goals. This will guarantee the company’s success, as employees will do the job for themselves.

Many companies focus on their organizational structure of the how or what their company does, versus finding their why. Looking at the key differences between IBM and Apple’s organizational structure, Apple continues to be a leader in technology. Steve Jobs gave employees a filter, a context, and a higher purpose around which to innovate. Apple employees simply look for ways to bring their cause to life, in as many places as they can, and it works.

“Great companies give their people a sense of purpose or challenge around which to develop ideas, rather than simply instructing them to make a better mousetrap. Companies with a great sense of why tend to ignore the competition. Innovation is invaluable for navigating struggle, [making it] easier to weather hard times or even to find opportunity then,” said Sinek.

Illuminate the Higher Cause

Employees don’t give up if they understand the higher cause. The Wright Brothers, Shackleton, and Apple’s management all believed they could be the best and they trusted their people to do it.

Another example that Sinek gave in his book was a story of two Stonemasons. One man just had a job for the money and chipped away each day in the heat, resenting his job. The other employee saw that he was building a cathedral–he saw the big picture. The latter had a sense of purpose and was part of the higher cause. He likely knew he would never see the end product, however, he was happy to be a part of its creation.

People working together for a common cause build trust and camaraderie. Companies with a sense of why are able to inspire their employees. The feelings they bring to work attract other people who are eager to work there as well. Good, inspired employees can be the organization’s salespersons for finding new, like-minded employees who also believe in the company’s core message and purpose. If they do bring in new people, they should also be rewarded. From management on down, these employees see that they all need each other in order to be successful.

Lead the Teams

The average company usually gives their people something to work on; in contrast, the most innovative organizations give their teams something to work toward. The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen. It is the people inside the company, on the front lines, who are best qualified to find new ways of doing things. Agency owners and leaders need to draw out those people’s great ideas and help them to feel empowered. Many companies have star employees, salesmen, and so on, but few have a company culture that produces great people as a rule and not an exception.

Summary

It is imperative to find your company’s why. The examples of all of these companies and notorious people in this article show how important it is for people to work toward a greater purpose. Agency owners need to inspire their team of employees. At the next planning meeting, the owners and employees should try working together to find the company’s why.

Oak is the founder and president of Oak and Associates, an international consulting firm to the insurance industry and specializes in mergers, acquisitions, perpetuation planning, valuations, planning meetings and streamlining operations for insurance agencies. Contact her at catoak@gmail.com, call 707-935-6565, or visit www.oakandassociates.com. Offices are located in Sonoma, California and Bend, Oregon.