Connecting with friends now that the New How book is done about why I wrote it and the journey of 10 years it took me to really get why the “how” matters as much as the “what”. He wrote back something that is worth sharing:
About the how mattering as much as the what…may be it matters even more for us, because behind every move, decision, achievements we make there’s a shadow of that move, that decision, that achievement, something that stays in us and shape who we are…and get transmitted to others so that when we’re gone, we’re not quite gone. That’ why the how matters so much.
He’s right.
When we change the state of “work” to focus on getting the right what by doing the best how, we are also enabling a corporate state of being that allows for people to be heard, to be seen, to contribute, to be alive and so on. This does show up in outcomes because talented creative people ultimately create more value when they bring the best of themselves to the game. Those are soft words so it would be easy to discount them as not mattering.
But it does matter that the human spirit is fully alive. Even at work.
