The Ladder: A simple tool to move from the WHAT to the HOW to the WHY and farther

Here's a concept I began working on for the Men's Advance 4.0 that hit September 2015. It was a turning point for that event as we moved more from "business stuff" to "life stuff."

Here's my premise: I think you've got to move from the what to the how to the why... and even beyond that. That's it.

(As I was editing the workbook for the upcoming event, I decided to shoot it on video... that's the raw footage, with Salter, our then 2yo, running around and making the great background noise- Many times, talking through something helps me get in on paper... so, here it is...) Anyway, here's what I've been processing for a few months, now...

The "what" is the thing you're doing. It's the goal you're pursuing. It's your dream. A lot of businesses call this their "mission statement." The "what" really connects with your head- it's an idea.

You're probably not going to get far without defining a "what." For all the griping people do about what's holding them back from their dreams, few people take the time to actually articulate what those dreams are.

The "how" is your implementation strategy. It's the specific actions you'll take to accomplish that dream. A lot of businesses go further and move from their mission statement to the vision statement. That tells people "how" they run.

• The mission says, "This is what we do. This is our dream. This is our goal."
• The vision says, "This is how we do it. This is what you experience along the way..."

Now, two businesses may have a similar "what" but do that what in two different ways. That is, their "how" may be different. For instance, Nordstrom and Amazon both strive for superior customer service (a "what"). However, they have two radically different "hows"- Amazon exists in the online world; Nordstrom does their thing through big box stores. Either way, you'll get further (read: higher up that ladder) if you know the "how" as well as the "what." 

If you know how to do something that's better than just knowing what it is that you want to do. Knowing the "what" without the "how" is like trying to assemble a Lego set without having the instructions. It frustrates kids; it makes grown men cry.

Now, the reason for it all...

Finally, the "why" is your reason for doing what you do. The "why" takes you higher than the "what" and the "how." Get this...

• The "what" deals with the world of ideas (the head),
• The "how" deals with the issues of implementation (the hands),
• The "why" deals with your reasons... your drive... (the heart).

Here are a few things I'm putting together about the why:

1. You can have a different "why" for each dream you're pursuing. Often, people tell me they have a hard time finding their true "why" because they have a few of them... You probably do have a few. They may simply be for different goals. For instance, my reasons for running a home-based business are different than my goal of health / nutrition. Yes, thankfully, there's some overlap- but don't feel like you have to have a singular "why" that's a silver bullet to drive all of your "whats" and "hows."

2. Your "why" directs the "what" and the "how" as well. In the same way that a "how" can be different with the same "what" (i.e., Nordstrom and Amazon), so also can a "why" rearrange the "how." In other words, there's a trickle down effect from the top.

One of our friends, Les, has a team member in his Young Living organization. I write about her in The Field Guide to the Comp Plan. Her goal is not to retire at age 40 by hitting Diamond or a higher rank. She simply wants to stay home with her toddler (an amazing goal, by the way). To do that, she simply needs to hit Gold. So, she's not building 5 legs (Diamond) or 6 (Crown, Royal Crown).

If she hits those ranks and misses the next few years of her son's milestones, she's missed what's important to her. So, her "why" dictates how she builds that organization- build three legs only. She doesn't mind "getting stuck" at Gold. She wants to be- because her why is to be "stuck at home" during the day.

See how it works?

3. The why, then, doesn't just determine how you climb, but it also determines where you set the ladder in the first place. There's nothing worse than putting in a bunch of effort here and then realizing it should have all been done over there.  The "why" ties all of that together.  

By the way, in the same way you go higher when you have a "how" that implements your "what" (your idea), I think you go even higher when you have a "why" that puts heart into it all...    

And there's more?

Of course, we still have a few more rungs up the ladder to go after we knock these three.

 _____________________

You might also like the entire online workshop of The Ladder. Go to www.TheLadder.info for more.