Who Not How

What Is Who Not How About?

• Who Not Howis about how, with each ascending level of success, your ability to produce results will be more and more contingent on Whos, not Hows.

Overview

• The idea of finding a Who to help you achieve your biggest goals will be promising for readers who are new to the subject of personal achievement, but for anyone that’s ever read a good book on goal setting, there’s nothing new here. I found many of the key takeaways in the introduction confirming for me at least that the book could have easily been an article. Overall, an average read at best (although I did enjoy the opening chapter).

Who Not How Summary

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time but didn’t win a championship during his first six years in the NBA. Although he was one of the best players in the league, he needed support. He needed a Who, not a How.

When Phil Jackson became the head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1989, he recognized that the Bulls needed a more team-based strategy—the triangle offense, to be precise—rather than relying exclusively on Michael’s superhuman talent.

From 1991–1998, the Chicago Bulls won six championships, becoming one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. Yet, none of this would have been possible had Jordan tried to do everything himself. He was not, to quote Hardy, “a self-contained entity.”

Hardy then invites you, the reader, to reflect on what you are trying to accomplish. “Do you have Whos in your life that give you the perspectives, resources, and ability to go beyond what you could do alone?” writes Hardy. “Or are you keeping your goals so small to make them easier to accomplish them on your own?” We don’t have to bear the whole load to prove our capabilities.

He continues,

It can be easy to focus on How, especially for high achievers who want to control what they can control, which is themselves. It takes vulnerability and trust to expand your efforts and build a winning team. It takes wisdom to recognize that 1) other people are more than capable enough to handle much of the Hows, and 2) that your efforts and contribution (your “Hows”) should be focused exclusively where your greatest passion and impact are. Your attention and energy should not be spread thin, but purposefully directed where you can experience extreme flow and creativity.

It can be easy to focus on How, especially for high achievers who want to control what they can control, which is themselves. It takes vulnerability and trust to expand your efforts and build a winning team. It takes wisdom to recognize that 1) other people are more than capable enough to handle much of the Hows, and 2) that your efforts and contribution (your “Hows”) should be focused exclusively where your greatest passion and impact are. Your attention and energy should not be spread thin, but purposefully directed where you can experience extreme flow and creativity.

Hardy reminds the reader that results, not effort, is the name of the game. “You are rewarded in life by the results you produce,” explains Hardy. “Not the effort and time you put in.” We don’t have to be over-infatuated with “process” or “hard work.”

Whenever we imagine a bigger and better future, we ask ourselves a question like, “How do I achieve this goal?” The problem, says Hardy, is this question assumes we need to do everything ourselves, that getting help from others is “cheating.” A better question to ask ourselves is, “Who can help me achieve this?” You define the vision, find the Who or Whos, and letthemcreate the results.

Favorite Quotes from the Book

• “How” limits you to your own knowledge and capabilities. “How” requires that you be the one to engage your time and attention into the particular task.
• “There are countless brilliant and capable Whos out there waiting and wanting to help you. They need only to hear and understand your vision.”
• “Your potential is virtually limitless when you stop asking ‘How?’ and start asking ‘Who?’”
• “You can’t have money freedom until you achieve time freedom.”
• “If you’re truly committed to a result, you’ll need to focus on Who, not How.”
• “Focusing on How will greatly limit your ability to make money. Believing that doing all of the Hows yourself is noble is a limiting belief. It’s not noble.”
• “Never enter a relationship without having first created value in that relationship.”
• “In order to have Freedom of Relationship, you can no longer engage with people that don’t align with your vision.”
• “Wherever you see brilliant work happening, collaboration is happening.”
• “Collaboration immediately expands your Freedom of Purpose and vision, because what you can do with others is exponentially more than what you can do by yourself. Collaboration allows you to focus on what you want to focus on and not feel guilty about getting help.”
• “Only through Whos can the most important miracles and blessings happen in your life.”

Recommended Reading

If you likeWho Not How, you might also like:

• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted Worldby Cal Newport
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Lessby Greg McKeown
• The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Resultsby Gary Keller

Buy The Book: Who Not How

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