When we need to recruit someone, we run a newspaper advertisement or an online post mentioning the list of expected qualifications, skills, and other details and expect all the best candidates to apply and join the company. We never recruit people who believe in what we believe in. Sometimes we think we hire passionate people, but the question is whether they are passionate about what we are passionate about? Whether they believe what we believe in?
The best example is the Endurance story when Ernest Schakthelton recruited his 24 men who believed in what he believed in. His advertisement did not say “men needed for an expedition, minimum of five years experience, must know how to hoist the mainsail” etc. It did not even mention “Come and work for a great captain.”
Instead, it went like this.
A leader might have a great vision, but having the right set of people who believe what the leader believes makes wonders! That’s how any organization can become successful.
This helped me put a lot of things into perspective – Simon Sinek illustrates a very interesting ‘golden circle’ in which he explains why some leaders and companies are capable of inspiring their employees while others cannot. At the very heart of this circle is the question why followed by how and what. This made me understand that while almost every company or leader has a very clear understanding of what they do and how they do it, a lot of people don’t place much value on why they do it.
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.
The ‘why’ of why you’re doing something defines success. If you can find an answer to that, it’ll push you towards setting your goals and executing them more effectively. As a leader who influences others, you need to get to the bottom of why you do what you do. This also made me understand the value of communicating with candidates on a more deeper level. And this is precisely why I always ensure that I recruit people who are genuinely interested and passionate in the field they are looking to work in.
For example, whenever I work on recruiting cadidates for Pick A Book, I always put forward the question of whether the candidate is a reader. The reason I do that is because I personally feel that you need to feel connected to the cause you are working for. What is the point of working for an organization that is all about reading when you yourself haven’t picked a book in years. If this happens to be the case, then even the qualifications the candidates bring to the table becomes irrelevant to me.
It is the very same concept I apply when recruiting candidates for Simbutu which is my pet information platform. Since Simbutu is all about pets, the employees I hire should be pet owners or passionate pet lovers themselves. Because as an employee, if you don’t feel connected to the work you are expending time in, then it wouldn’t hold any value to you and if it doesn’t hold any value to you, then you wouldn’t be dedicated in doing what you’re doing.
As Simon Sinek rightfully said to ‘Start with Why’, thanks to this invaluable principle, I can proudly say that I have the best possible teams that are totally dedicated to the platforms they are working in. Since they are passionate about the cause themselves, I can see how it has translated into more efficient results, improved efforts and overall success.
Thank you Simon Sinek for your absolutely amazing tips in your inspiring bestseller!
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Ragulan Tharmakulasingam 