Why | How | What | Loyalty | Proact | Golden Circle | Give and Take | Degrees of Confidence

Why

- proper noun

1. The single purpose, cause or belief that serves as the unifying, driving and inspiring force for any individual or organization.
a. For an organization, the Why inspires the products, services, marketing, culture, hiring profile and partnerships the organization makes or performs.
b. For an individual, the Why guides the ideal and most fulfilling decisions – finding a job you love, maintaining friends you trust and buying the brands to which you’re most loyal.
 
2. The starting point of the Golden Circle

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How

- proper noun (most common usage as plural, i.e. "Hows" )

1. The guiding principles or actions an organization or individual takes to bring to life their Why.
2. Hows are written as verbs as they are actions to be performed and not just inactionable values to be admired, e.g. Do the right thing vs. integrity.
3. Strategies.
4. The second level of the Golden Circle.

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What

- proper noun

1. The results of actions taken to bring the Why to life.
2. Tactics.
3. Everything tangible an organization says or does. Everything outsiders can see, hear or experience, e.g. products, services, partnerships, marketing, etc.
4. The third level of the Golden Circle.

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Loyalty

- noun

faithful to any leader, party, or cause. Loyalty is not the same as repeat business. Repeat business is when people do business with you over and over. Loyalty is when they are willing to turn down a better product, a better price or suffer some sort of inconvenience to continue to do business with you. True loyalty is driven by the buyer and not by any "loyalty program" of the seller.

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Proact

- verb

to think and act in a forward direction. Opposite of react. The verb form of "proactive." To "be proactive" is passive, a state of mind. "Proact" is a command. Consider the difference when you tell someone "to be reactive to a situation" or "to react." Likewise, we often tell people to "be proactive," but to inspire forward thinking we need to tell them to "proact." Read more.

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Golden Circle

- noun

The model that codifies the three distinct and interdependent elements that makes any person or organization function at its highest ability. Based on the biology of human decision making, it demonstrates how the function of our limbic brain and the neocortex directly relate to the way in which people interact with each other and with organizations and brands in the formation of cultures and communities. The concept is fully explained in Simon Sinek’s book, Start With Why, published in 2009.

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Give and Take

- noun

the components of a balanced relationship. Whether between individuals or organizations, for all parties to feel fulfilled, they must be able to articulate what they can selflessly give to the other party and what they selfishly want from the other party in terms that go beyond financial compensation. For a Give and Take relationship to succeed, all parties must agree to give what the other parties want to take. When a Give and Take is not clear to all parties in a relationship or if obligations promised are not fulfilled, the relationship has a higher probability of becoming unstable or failing.

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Degrees of Confidence

- noun

the three levels of certainty in the decisions we make based on the levels of the Golden Circle.
• Rational decision: When only facts and figures are used to justify a decision or action. We say of these decisions, "I think this is the right decision." Rational decisions are the lowest level of certainty but they are easily explained.
• Gut decisions: When only a "gut feeling" justifies a decision or action. We say of these decisions, "I feel this is the right decision." Gut decisions have a higher level of certainty than rational decisions but the reasons that justify the decision are not entirely clear or easily explained. Gut decision are not scalable as only one person can make them.
• Why decision: When a decision "feels right" and can be justified with facts and figures. We say of these decisions, "I know this is the right decision." Why decisions are the highest level of certainty. Multiple people who are driven by the same belief will all agree the decision feels right and will agree with the facts to justify the decision. Why decisions are scalable.

Here's a test for certainty - the next time someone says to you, "I think this is the right course of action," ask them, "do you know this is the right decision?" If they hesitate or express some reservations, they have demonstrated that they are making a rational decision. This does not mean the decision is wrong, per se, it just lacks certainty.

 

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Success

- noun

waking up everyday at peace with the life you live and the decisions you've made. 


 

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