Who Not How Summary
Tag Line: Who Not How will skyrocket your success, happiness, and fulfillment in all areas of your life by identifying why you’re looking at your problems the wrong way and how simply seeking to get the right people to help you will make all the difference.
I still remember how devastated seven-year-old me was to see the Utah Jazz get destroyed in the NBA finals by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls two years in a row. I was a huge Jazz fan and hated the Bulls and Jordan. At least until I learned their stories.
This team wasn’t always on top, and neither was Michael Jordan. When he came on in 1984, he wasn’t seeing much success, despite already showing signs of being the best player in the NBA.
The solution to their problem ended up not being a “How” but instead a “Who.” And it took a couple of Whos, including Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson, for the Bulls to get to the point where I saw them dominating in and around 1997 and 1998.
I love hearing this story now not only because I don’t really care about the Jazz anymore, but more because I love learning how teaming up with the right people helps you stop spinning your wheels and instead leads to success.
That’s why I loved Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy’s newest book Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork and believe that you’re going to love it too.
Here’s the book summarized in just 3 lessons:
1. Ask yourself “who can help me accomplish this?” instead of “how am I going to get this done?”
2. Getting the right Whos in your life will free up your time.
3. You will make more money when you find Whos to complete your Hows.
Are you excited to discover a whole new world of productivity and freedom by asking one simple question? Let’s go!
Lesson 1: If you want to get more done, consider the people that can help you instead of worrying about the best way to do it.
A couple of years ago I was in a job working for a boss that I didn’t really like. I remember sitting there one day realizing that I didn’t want to be there anymore and asking myself how in the world I was going to get out.
But I was asking the wrong question, as I was soon to discover. Thankfully, I quickly began asking the right one without even knowing it.
Not long afterward I started writing on Medium.com. Six months later had a freelance writing gig because of friendships I’d made there.
Two months after that, I had lost my job. But again, because of my connections, I got to start my own company.
And just this month I get to buy a house in a wildly competitive market thanks to some amazing friends.
These experiences are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how success has found its way to me because I’ve met the right people instead of worrying about how it was going to get done.
This is the power of Who Not How. I could complicate it but at its core, all you need to do to utilize the massive potential within this tool is stop asking “How will I get this done?” and instead ask “Who will help me reach my goal?” in all aspects of your life.
Lesson 2: You will have more time if you find the right people to help you reach your goals.
As a 16-year-old living in California, Richie Norton wanted to get a job. After hearing about this, Richie’s dad told him that he didn’t want Richie to get a job. What Richie really wanted was money, so his dad told him how he could get it.
Soon, Richie and his brother were driving their family’s van, with all the backseats out of it, to a watermelon farm. They bought all the deformed watermelons, which the farmers couldn’t sell.
Once they got home, Richie and his brother started going down the list in the phonebook, calling everybody and offering his watermelons. A few hours later he’d made more than he would have the entire summer working a full-time job.
Initially, Richie’s question was “How will I make the money I want?” The only answer he could come up with was a job that would have cost him the entire summer’s worth of time.
Instead, with the right Who, his entrepreneur dad, Richie cut down the amount of time it took him to earn that money significantly, leaving his whole summer open for fun.
When you ask Who instead of How, you’ll save an exponential amount of time.
Lesson 3: You will earn more money when you find the right Whos to solve your Hows.
In addition to being the managing editor here at Four Minute Books, I am also a licensed professional engineer. I own my own company for both the writing and engineering. While both are doing well now, they weren’t always.
Earlier this year I lost my biggest engineering client, and with them, over half of my income within that company. Thankfully it was a cordial separation, they’d just grown big enough to need their own engineer.
But I was still asking how to get the income back.
I was meeting with coaches, asking friends, and constantly wondering how I was going to find another client. I don’t have a lot of sales skills, so I felt lost.
Things began to change, however, after shifting my focus to the question “Who can help me get more clients?” I realized that I had a family member with sales experience who had recently lost his job. I asked him if he would like to make some money helping me get more clients, and he did.
He’s since helped me get not only one new client, but almost three, with opportunities to get more. Now, my engineering company is well on its way to making that money back and more.
If you want to reach your big financial goals, start asking “Who can help me with this?” instead of how.
Final Words
Man, I love this idea. Not only did Shawn Achor prove it’s truth in Big Potential, but I’ve also personally seen the right Whos leading me to success, countless times. I firmly believe that, if you follow what it teaches, Who Not How is going to radically alter your life for the better.
