Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork

by Dan Sullivan

Rather than spending your time doing all the Hows, you can use that time, and the freedom of your mind, to master your performance. When you show up, you’ll be fresh. You’ll be prepared. You’ll have the bandwidth and focus to become “world class” or incredible at what you do. As you become successful the demands on you will increase, and then you’ll need Whos to handle as well as shield you from most of those demands, or you’ll get overrun and bogged down.

In order to continue growing at each successive level, you need Whos to handle the increasing complexity you create as your work and influence reaches more people.

You have to make investments to increase your freedom. You’ve got to step up and commit to doing things better and smarter, not solely working harder.

the more decisions you have to make, the lower the quality those decisions will become. You need to make fewer, but better, decisions. You need Whos to handle all of the involved decisions—whether that be scheduling or organizing—and set the stage for you. Don’t set your own stage and then perform on top of that. Just show up and give the best show you can, whatever that looks like for you.

Money avoids the person who doesn’t value their time. Only those who improve their time, value it, and use it more effectively experience money freedom. Once you add Whos to handle your Hows, then your time will be best spent on those things that make the biggest impact.

“Make the mental image. Make it clear, distinct, perfect; hold it firmly; the ways and means will develop; supply will follow the demand; you will be led to do the right thing at the right time and in the right way. Earnest Desire will bring about Confident Expectation, and this in turn must be reinforced by Firm Demand.”

Motivationally, supply actually follows perceived demand. When you believe something must be done, you somehow find the ability to get it done. This is why deadlines are so powerful. When there is a demand or requirement, you find the motivation. Without that pressing demand, your needed motivational supply doesn’t show up.

the Pygmalion Effect, and what it means is that as people, we are either rising or falling to the expectations of those around us. When the demands are high, we show up. When they are low, we settle.

You need to increase the demand on yourself to focus and succeed. You need an environment and situation forcing you to rise up to the level of your goals. In order to do that, you need to increase the demand on yourself and others to produce the desired result.

Pressure can bust pipes or make a diamond. You need the pressure to succeed. You add that pressure by increasing your investment. This forces you to better use your time, which enables you to increase your income capacity

“Commitment is a statement of what ‘is.’ You can know what you’re committed to by your results, not by what you say your commitments are. We are all committed. We are all producing results. The result is proof of a commitment.” —Jim Dethmer,

Every time you invest in a vision, your commitment to that vision increases.

Escalation of Commitment: Every time you invest yourself in something, you become more committed to it.

Transformational leaders embody four characteristics:

Individualized Consideration: The degree to which, as the leader, you attend to each team member’s needs, act as a mentor or coach to each member, and listen to concerns and needs. You give empathy and support, keep communication open, and place challenges before your team so they can grow. You give respect and celebrate the individual contribution that each person can make to the team.

Intellectual Stimulation: The degree to which, as the leader, you challenge people’s assumptions, take risks, and solicit ideas from your team. You stimulate and encourage creativity in your team, and you nurture and help team members to think independently. You help them build confidence so they can make their own decisions and take their own risks. You take learning very seriously, placing high value on it, and you see unexpected situations as opportunities to learn. You allow your team members ...

Inspirational Motivation: The degree to which, as the leader, you articulate a vision that is appealing and inspiring to your team. You challenge your team to increase their personal standards, while you communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. Every member of your team needs a strong sense of purpose in order to be motivated to act. Purpose and meaning provide the energy that drives the group forward. As the visionary and leader, your ability to powerfully and persuasively communicate the vision is essential. You must make the vision understandable, precise, powerful, and engaging so that your team will become increasingly willing to put more effort into com...

Idealized Influence: As the leader, you act as a role model for high ethical behavior, you instill positive pride and create a culture among your team, and you gain respect and trust. People follow you because of who you are. You have high moral authority. People want to be wi...

“There are two kinds of suffering: long suffering and short suffering. The choice is yours.”

“Entrepreneurs have crossed ‘the risk line’ from the ‘Time-and-Effort Economy’ to the ‘Results Economy.’ For them, there’s no guaranteed income, no one writing them a paycheck every two weeks. They live by their ability to generate opportunity by creating value for their clientele. Sometimes, they—and you—will put in a lot of time and effort and get no result. Other times, they don’t put in much time and effort and get a big result.

The focus for entrepreneurs always has to be on results or there’s no revenue coming in. If you work for an entrepreneur, guess what! This is true for you too.

If you want greater freedom in your life, you’ll need to focus on results. You’ll need to let Whos achieve the result for you. You’ll need to give them the freedom to execute and create solutions in their own unique way.

According to Self-Determination Theory, every human being has three basic psychological needs related to their work: A sense of competence Autonomy in how they do their work Positive and meaningful relationships

when a team has 1) high autonomy, 2) high goal clarity, and also 3) gets regular feedback on their results, then their performance shoots through the roof.

It is the role of the leader to determine the “what”—which is the desired outcome or goal—and to provide clarity, feedback, and direction when needed. It is not the role of the leader to explain how the job is done. The Who determines how they will best go about getting the job done. All they need is clarity about what specifically “done” looks like.

Boundaries and clarity create motivation. In order to be motivated, you need clarity and simplicity. Boundaries help clarify your path toward your desired aims.

According to Expectancy Theory, one of the core motivation theories in psychology, motivation requires a clear and tangible outcome, as well as a path to getting that outcome. The constraints established by the Success Criteria are essential for the Who being motivated, because they clarify the Who’s path but also provide complete autonomy in how they create the result.

“Lessons are repeated until learned.” —Dr. Chérie Carter-Scott

Our culture has brainwashed us into avoiding costs rather than making powerful investments in ourselves and our futures. As a result, we willingly do all sorts of “busy” or ineffective work outside our expertise and passion, falsely believing that “working hard” or engaging in such tasks is worth it.

Although having a great work ethic is something to strive for, you’ve got to be careful. You’re either in the “Time and Effort Economy” or the “Results Economy.” Far too often, people wear their hard work as a badge of honor. But in reality, they are engaging in Hows that could easily be handled by a Who to more effectively produce the desired result.

“No one ever lost any advantage by being humble, intere...

“Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution toward the things that really matter.” —Greg McKeown

You’ve got to really learn the opportunity cost of How. By doing everything yourself, you miss out on unfathomable growth that comes by investing in Whos and utilizing your time and efforts on higher impact activities.

When you’re investment-minded, you’re not short-term in your thinking. You consider the bigger picture, and you look at how you can help the right people, without coming across as transactional.

Whos, when selected properly to fit within your vision, are never a cost. Whos are an investment.

If you’re investment-minded, then you will be transformational in your relationships, including the relationship you have with yourself. You’ll be long-term focused, having an increasingly growing vision of your future.

By shifting your focus from cost to investment, you stop worrying about what you’re giving up and instead, realize that by making powerful decisions you can make enormous gains.

“You can survive without a community, but you can’t thrive without one.”

rather than being the point man for everyone’s problems, Joe has created a network of world-class entrepreneurs, experts, marketers, doctors, influencers, and innovators. When people enter Joe’s world, they not only get Joe, but they get the extension of Joe, which is his living and breathing network of geniuses. That’s why he calls it Genius Network.

Freedom of Purpose, then, is measured by your ability to connect to and develop relationships with particular people. The more freedom you have, the more access you have. But not just access. . . you’ll also have the ability and reason to connect and develop partnerships with chosen Whos.

“Treat your employees as an investment, not a cost.”

“What you seek is seeking you.” —Rumi