Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter Docker
Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team
ISBN: 978-0-14-311172-6
One of my favorite books that I read for this review series in 2021 was Simon Sinek’s Start With Why. In that book, he discussed the importance of finding a company’s or person’s “why” – the deeper reason for doing what is being done. He discussed why the “why” is at the center of everything and more important than either the “what” or the “how,” the two areas where people and companies stuck in ruts tend to drift. While Sinek did a great job discussing his reasoning, he really didn’t dive into any process to figure out your “why.” A sequel to Start With Why was needed.
Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team is that second volume that Start With Why needed. It was written mostly by Mead and Docker with the blessing of Sinek, and discusses the process Mead and Docker use when counseling people and companies on finding their “why.” Mead and Docker have developed the “Why Discovery” process for individuals and businesses based on Sinek’s work and their own experiences unlocking the potential of others through consulting and facilitation. The book begins with common steps that both individuals and companies can use to find their way, and then the process splits based on who is going through the process, either individuals or groups.
The book is written so that anyone, new or experienced, can use the text as a guide along with a partner or group facilitator. The authors emphasize that you cannot do the process on your own – individuals must have a partner, and groups need to have an impartial facilitator running the session, as it’s easy to get derailed without someone to hold the person or group accountable. Honestly, the book is written in a way where I, a complete novice when first reading the book, could successfully go through the “Why Discovery” process with a partner or lead a company or organization through the process without much difficulty. With a receptive partner, I would have no trouble identifying my “why,” and then listing my “how”s and “what”s.
Find Your Why is a relatively quick read, because it’s not a complicated process. I breezed through the book the first time while waiting for and on a flight, but since then, I’ve re-read certain parts of the book again for some clarity in the process. The book is not meant to be a one-time read – it’s meant to be a resource for leaders in organizations. As individuals and organizations change over time, their “why” statements may shift, and this guide may be necessary every so often if the individual or the tribe wants to go through the discovery process again. Perhaps they have returned to the rut or found a new rut or a new obstacle to overcome. Whatever the case, this is a book to keep for a lifetime.
Overall, 10/10, would highly recommend for anyone who might be stuck in a professional or personal rut of “what” and “how” and need to find a way out. We all become stuck in an unproductive loop at times, or can lose our way or our motivation when things get difficult. Finding or reminding one’s self why one does what one does can be the cure for the common rut.