"Who, Not How" with Dean Jackson - The Entrepreneurland Podcast, Episode 3

Dean Jackson coined the phrase “Who, not how,” which you might recognize as the title of a well-known entrepreneurial book. Well, Dean’s friend and Strategic Coach founder, Dan Sullivan, resonated with the idea so hard that he and Dr. Benjamin Hardy wrote a book about it. (Who, Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy is dedicated to Dean.)

For Dean, the idea is more of a concept by which to live his life. We discuss unique ability, abundance mentality, and the power of sticking with a community for the long run. He also breaks down the concept of a Who. The gist is this: we don’t have to know.

 

Highlights from this Episode:

• No one can do it alone. A Who Hunter is always on the lookout for someone whose unique skill set matches what is missing in the organization. You’re always looking for the person who was literally put on earth to do what you need them to do.
• Often people don’t know their own unique abilities. While a unique ability is certainly something special about an individual, it is often an attribute they come by so naturally that they don’t even notice it. Sometimes, the best way to find your unique abilities is to ask other people what they rely on you for. There are exercises to help you find your unique abilities in "Who, Not How. "
• Fast track to done. Dean explains how entrepreneurs usually excel at adaptive challenges where the answer is not known. We can figure it out or invent a solution, but we often get caught up in the technicalities of it, or in trying to teach other people how to do it.
• Whos are not always entrepreneurial, but they can be. They are the perfect Whos because they do the role so naturally, that they’ve never even thought of it as a skill. 
• A business owner and an entrepreneur are not the same thing. An entrepreneur is usually a business owner, but a business owner is not always an entrepreneur.
• What constitutes a Who is much more comprehensive than their unique ability alone. You have to look into their history, their track record, their personality, the gut feeling you have about them, what other people are saying about them, etc., and draw a full picture before determining whether they’re your Who.
• You often learn more about your values when things don’t go right. Often it’s easier to identify your values when things go tragically wrong and then to reverse engineer them!

 

Connect with Steve and Dean:

Steve Distante - https://stevedistante.com 

Dean Jackson - http://deanjackson.com