13. What Is Your “Why?”

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”– Antoine de Saint ExupéryWhat motivates you to get out of bed every morning? What motivates you to keep going when times get tough? Have you ever thought about the “why” that drives your “what?” If you are one of the few who have, have you ever thought about all the ways your passion can inspire others to join you on your journey?Simon Sinek has several books that discuss finding your “why.” Your “why” isn’t what you do, or how you do it, but what drives those things that we do every day. It’s what motivates us to keep going when things aren’t going our way.Taking it one step further, the author Antoine de Saint Exupéry says that if you want to build a boat, don’t just find workers and give them orders, but teach them to long for the immensity of the sea. If we want to build great software, we can’t just spin up a pod and expect great results. If we want to build great software, we need to motivate our team to want to build great software. If we can figure out how to motivate our teams to want to build great software, there’s no stopping us.Topics:• 00:25 – Wash your hands• 00:55 – Simon Sinek is smart• 01:45 – Why do we do what we do?• 02:45 – Apple vs Others• 04:30 – Is your organization a good fit?• 05:20 – Why are we still here?• 07:30 – Finding your “why” opens your options• 08:00 – How to build a boat• 08:32 – How does this relate to software?• 09:49 – Finding shared a shared “why” builds a coalition• 12:15 – Your “why” can be strengthened by your experience• 12:50 – Your strong “why” can influence other’s “why”• 13:00 – Influence is not about Coercion• 13:15 – Your passion can spread• 14:05 – You can lead without being the “leader”• 14:29 – Your emotional intelligence matters• 16:55 – How do we find our “why”?• 18:00 – Now might be a good time for a reset• 21:15 – Podcast SoulmatesHelpful Links:• Simon Sinek• Start With Why• How Great Leaders Inspire Action• How to build a boat—– Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a comment and a five-star review. It helps us out a ton. If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear. • Check out our website • Follow us on twitter • Find us on Facebook •