I first learned about this concept of WHY when I read Start With Why by Simon Sinek. In that book, Simon explains how some of the world’s greatest leaders inspire themselves as well as other people to take action, buy their products, or champion their cause by clarifying, understanding, and communicating their purpose, their WHY—before everything else. They start with, sell with, and lead with WHY. All organizations operate on three levels: (1) WHAT we do, (2) HOW we do it, and (3) WHY we do it. We’re all acquainted with WHAT we do—the products we sell, the services we offer, the jobs we do (checkout Clayton Christensen's work on JTBD to learn more).
At ASES we used this principle to create a powerful North Star with a mission and core values that empowered us to do groundbreaking work.
Sinek’s latest book, Find Your Why, serves as his follow-up to Start With Why… While Start With Why shows you why it’s important to start with WHY; Find Your Why actually shows you how to discover your WHY.
As I transition into a new adventure, I was very reflective on my own personal why. I went through the process and ponderings suggested in the book to uncover the areas that bring me joy and fulfillment in my work. What is my WHY? I believe my personal why statement is ”To build bridges to connect people and ideas for infinite possibilities.” I want the work I do to be toward positive programs (authentic learning, student agency, etc) and I want to work towards people-positive initiatives (growing leaders and creating new opportunities) and I want my work to have an impact on the future. As I look at my next steps I hope that I’ll be able to find a place that will allow me to be a connector for people, ideas and infinite possibilities to better the world.
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