Why WHY is Important?

In the early years of building my business, I had hired a super intelligent marketing consultant who had been a Chief Marketing Officer of leading brands of the country.
 
He told me Have It All and Realize Your Dreams as an offering won’t work, that it is too idealistic, that it is not a believable promise, that it will impact my credibility if I even talk about it.
 
Indra Nooyi’s interview went viral where she declared that women cannot have it all and invited women to accept that reality. That was around the same time when I was offering Have It All as a way of life to women through Mums At Work™, my first business, now a channel of impact of Realize Your Dreams Gym for Business, Leadership and Life Mastery™.
 
I believe growth gets accelerated when you have mentors holding the mirror for you. So, I had a Board of Advisors as soon as I started my entrepreneurial journey in 2010, after hanging up my corporate boots at American Express. Blossom Kochhar, India's leading woman entrepreneur from the times when entrepreneurship was not as yet fashionable, American Express' India Head and Genpact's global HR Head were part of the Board.
 
I wanted to have it all. I was a guilty young mother who quit her cushy senior executive corporate job because fear of not being loved by her kids was way bigger than the security of a fixed salary at the end of the month.
 
The way to solve for having it all for me was by giving it to others. I wanted to solve for and make available Having It All for women, the first community that I was inspired to work with. That Why for my business connected deeply with me because that’s what I most wanted for myself.
 
I intuitively knew my How – Agility of Mind, Being of Service, Communicating Powerfully in the World of Others, Delivering on my Word, Excellence.
 
But, the Board wasn’t interested in my Why and How. They only wanted to know my What and I didn’t have clarity on that. I iterated business model after business model from providing groceries and vegetables to women at corporates, hobby creative classes at their workplace, inspirational talks, networking events, part-time jobs, theme clubs, gender diversity programs for corporates, success coaching.
 
Finally, RYD was born 3 years later in 2013 after breaking 10 business models as an Integrated Entrepreneurship Program bringing together business coaching and success coaching. RYD continued to iterate from there, year on year, to what it has now become.
 
My first Chief Operating Officer in those early years, a senior leader from a global technology company, with vast amounts of operational experience, got my Why but didn’t connect with my How. She connected deeply with Having It All for herself as she was my coachee before she became my COO but questioned about coaching others on Having It All when she said she didn’t Have It All herself.
 
For me, Having It All is a journey and as I am being of service by supporting others to Have It All by connecting them to their Power to Create and doing much more of what I am coaching others to do, more of it will keep getting created for me as it’s in giving that we receive and it’s in doing before telling others to do.
 
I moved ahead with my Why, How and newly discovered What; leaving behind my partners on my initial journey – the senior marketing consultant, the board members, my COO, and other employees who had joined because I gave them a salary. We parted ways along the journey because I had not as yet understood the importance of partnering with only those people who were inspired by my Why, How, What in that order – team members, business partners, advisors and even coachees.
 
A solopreneur again after having failed to scale my first business. I took away valuable learnings from my initial experience. In retrospect, I didn’t have the Leadership Depth to scale my business at that time. I wasn’t able to bring people together to fulfil on a missing need in the world that spoke to my heart and soul. I didn’t have an understanding of the depth of craft mastery to make having it all available to people.
 
I used the playground of Business Excellence to learn and grow in Craft Mastery, and the playground of Life to learn and grow in Leadership Depth.
 
In response to the Board’s continued input every meeting before I formally dissolved the Board that I was a bottleneck of my own business, I birthed Centre for Coaching Excellence to coach, develop and train RYD Coaches for the business to continue creating massive positive impact long after I am gone, and even more so.
 
My COO introduced me to Vipassana. My marketing consultant taught me how to build my own website, which I am still running on my own. My earlier employees taught me to hire for Why and How, and to relate to my people as my coachees. Therefore, our coachees are RYD Heart (RYD Circle of Love), RYD coaches are RYD Soul and RYD Staff are The Source of RYD. Yet, there was a time when I cared more about my coachees than about my own people.
 
I learnt a lot more from my partners of my initial journey, but the above was their most significant contribution to me.
 
Yet,
 
If I had listened to the senior marketing consultant, I would now be a business coach like millions of others with my mind coaching the mind of my coachees; unable to support them to realize their highest potential, make massive positive impact and have it all.
 
If I had listened to the Board, I would now be offering part-time jobs to women with them still struggling as helpless victims under the burden of their triple responsibilities – kids, work and home.
 
If I had listened to my earlier employees, I would now be running Events for women with them feeling happy and grateful in the events, but go back to their normal lives with no experience of their greatness outside the events.
 
If I had listened to my earlier coachees, I would now be running clubs for professional women to be members of, experiencing a safe supportive space; but not inspired to realize their highest potential.
 
If I had listened to my husband, I would have become a soft-skills corporate trainer.
 
If I had listened to my Dad, I would have never quit my high paying job at Amex.
 
If I had listened to the breakdowns in my Life, I would have surely re-joined the corporate world.
 
Instead, I chose to stay true to my Truth, however laughable that idea was; walked alone for a large part of my journey; invested massively in craft mastery to answer the question ‘How to Have It All?’ from multiple points on the Ball of Perspective to contribute to my coachees; instead of spending that time and money in marketing myself and networking.
 
Today, Realize Your Dreams (RYD) is our community, Have It All is our Purpose and Good to Great is the journey we are all on with each one of these three as our brand promises and the jobs-to-be-done. Our next Hero’s journey is to nurture 60 Indian businesses to be Fortune Global 100, 300 Indian businesses to be Fortune Global 500 and 1000 Indian businesses to be Forbes Global 2000. This is a laughable idea just as Have It All and Realize Your Dreams was 14 years ago. I grew massively and experienced massive joyous fulfilment along the journey to make the laughable real that I am looking forward to the next leg of my journey to make the next laughable idea real.
 
I would have surely made money through the various other options that I was advised on – continue working with Amex, business coach focussed only on business, part-time jobs, events, clubs for professional women, soft-skills corporate trainer, re-joining the corporate world.
 
But, I would have left a lot of impact on the table because Massive Impact is an outcome of being true to your Why. I can’t claim to have made massive impact, yet what I have created so far is much more massive than I would have with any of the various options I was advised to take on.
 
Since Money is a perfect expression of our creativity and the difference we are making, the revenue of our business is a measure of our impact. Building your business on only a financial model will leave a lot of impact, and therefore, lot of money on the table.
 
Your Why and How is the oxygen of your business. You can be happy with the success you are creating and yet, you can create super success along with transforming the world, and yourself as an outcome of that. Then, why not choose that?
 
Let’s correlate Why, How and What concept with the ideas of different Thought Leaders to explore different points on the Ball of Perspective, each equally true and powerful, for greater clarity, understanding and ease of implementation in our own lives, personally and professionally. It’s only in implementing the learnings and insights that the learnings and insights have any meaning and value.
 
1. Simon Sinek
Live and communicate from Inside-Out to inspire action from your people and your customers, and create Greatness.

The below is Simon Sinek's Golden Circle:

i. Your WHY is your purpose, cause, or belief. WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care about the work you do?
 
ii. Our HOWs are the actions we take when we are at our natural best and are living out our WHY. It’s HOW you bring your WHY to life that makes you and your company unique. As a result, the combination of your WHY and HOWs is like your organization’s fingerprint.
 
iii. Every single company and organization on the planet knows WHAT they do. This is true no matter how big or small, and no matter what industry. Everyone is easily able to describe the products or services a company provides or the job function they have within that system. WHATs are easy to identify and important to have, but are less impactful than the WHY.

Here's an article by Simon Sinek on the Golden Circle - The Golden Circle
           
The inspired leaders—every single one of them, regardless of their industry—think, act, and communicate from the inside out.
 
People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

​Here's a TED Talk by Simon Sinek on How Great Leaders Inspire Action:

​For RYD,
i. Why – Our Purpose is to support people to Have It All, and be happy, healthy and prosperous.
ii. How – Agility of Mind, Being of Service, Communicating Powerfully in the World of Others, Delivering on your Word, Excellence. These are RYD Core Values. These are also Leadership Depth Gears to raise human consciousness, one step at a time from Gear 1 to Gear 5 = Leadership Depth
iii. What – Transformation Ecosystem for Businesses - Coaching leaders to joyously lead themselves and their business from good to great, realize their dreams and have it all with ease and grace; while having lots of fun and adventure along the way = RYD Good to Great Journey integrating 3 Growth Levers (Leadership Depth, Craft Mastery, Business Excellence) to support people to Have It All, one organization at a time

2. Scaling-up’s Vision Summary Tool
i. Why: Purpose of your Organization.
Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is a Milestone on the way to fulfil on your Purpose.
ii. How: Your organization’s Core Values
iii. What: Brand Promises, the Job-to-be-Done
 
For RYD,
i. Why: Purpose of your Organization.
Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is a Milestone on the way to fulfil on your Purpose.
 
Purpose: Our Purpose is to support people to Have It All, and be happy, healthy and prosperous.
 
BHAG: RYD India 2047 - Our BHAG is to be the world’s best Transformation Ecosystem nurturing 60 Indian Businesses to be Fortune Global 100, 300 Indian Businesses to be Fortune Global 500 and 1000 Indian Businesses to be Forbes Global 2000 as Businesses we coach become Spaces of Grace for people to joyously lead themselves and their work from good to great, realize their dreams and have it all; supporting India to be the world's most developed, beautiful, greenest nation with her citizens happiest, healthiest and the most prosperous; creating a Brave New World.
 
Supporting people to Have It All, one organization at a time.
 
ii. How: Your organization’s Core Values
Agility of Mind, Being of Service, Communicating Powerfully in the World of Others, Delivering on your Word, Excellence
 
iii. What: Brand Promises = The Job to be Done
a. Joyously Lead your Business from good to great to create a massive positive impact in the world
b. Effortlessly Realize Your Dreams
c. Have it All with ease and grace, while having lots of fun and adventure along the way

​Click below to download a blank template of Vision Summary:

Scaling-up Growth Tools - Vision Summary
File Size:	535 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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​3. Jim Collins’ The Hedgehog Concept
i. What you are deeply passionate about? = Why
ii. What you can be the best in the world at? = How
iii. What drives your economic engine? What will people pay you money for? = What
 
For RYD,
i. Why: What you are deeply passionate about? – Raising People’s Consciousness to Have It All = Leadership Depth
ii. How: What you can be the best in the world at? – Realize Your Dreams (RYD) Coaches = Craft Mastery
iii. What: What drives your economic engine? What will people pay you money for? – Business Growth, Coach businesses from Good to Great - Profit per X is Profit per Business = Business Excellence
 
 
Bringing it all together: Coaching Leaders to lead themselves and their business from Good to Great, Realize their Dreams and Have It All with ease and grace; while having lots of fun and adventure along the way.

4. Ikigai

i. What you Love? = Why = If you stay True to your Truth, your Why, in the face of all breakdowns, you grow in Leadership Depth.
ii. What you are Good at? = How = This becomes your Craft Mastery. Play to be the world’s best in this.
iii. What you can be Paid For? = What people want = Give to People what they need through what they want = Business Excellence
iv. What the world Needs? = What people need = You bring together the above three to fulfil on this missing need through your work and your life.

For j,
i. What you Love? = If you stay True to your Truth, your Why, in the face of all breakdowns, you grow in Leadership Depth = Having people experience their own greatness = Why
ii. What you are Good at? = Coaching = Craft Mastery = Play to be the world’s best in this = How
iii. What you can be Paid For? = Coach leaders to lead their businesses from Good to Great = Business Excellence = What
iv. What the world Needs? = Have It All = Outcome to be delivered, missing need to be fulfilled by bringing together the above 3. Coaching Leaders to lead themselves and their business from Good to Great, Realize their Dreams and Have It All with ease and grace; while having lots of fun and adventure along the way.
 
5. RYD
i. How to Realize Your Dreams?
a. Why: Your Purpose
b. How: Your Spiritual Values which fill the Hole in your Soul, Your Big Mind, Your Peaceful Warrior Roles
c. What: Your Dream.
 
ii. How to Fulfil Your Intentions?
a. Why: Your Intention.
b. How: How will you know you have fulfilled your Intention? These are your measurable Outcome Goals for the Intention, forming the first level of structure of success.
c. What: What do you need to do to achieve the Outcome Goals? These are your measurable Input Actions or Process Goals, which form the second level of structure of success.
 
iii. RYD Circles of Transformation
a. Why: The Source of RYD – Circle of RYD Staff
b. How: The Soul of RYD – Circle of RYD Coaches
c. What: The Mind of RYD – Circle of RYD Playbooks
d. First Level of Impact: The Heart of RYD – RYD Circle of Love – RYD Coachees
e. Second Level of Impact: The Energy of RYD – Circle of RYD Graduates
f. Third Level of Impact: The Body of RYD – Circle of RYD People – All people in the lives of all RYDians (Staff, Coaches, Coachees, Graduates) - their family members and all people whose lives they touch in their organization and other communities that they are a part of
 
Keep playing to joyously lead yourself and your business from good to great, realize your dreams and have it all with ease and grace; while having lots of fun and adventure along the way 💜

Loving you,
j.