13 Lessons from Who Not How

Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

I have a horrible habit of hearing a great idea and immediately jumping to how to pull it off. How hard it will be, how many steps, how much money, how much time. I know I ask this because I’m pretty good at getting things done; I know how to make a checklist and work hard. But, this thinking limits results. I am only one person.

I believe this book is a must read for pastors and ministry leaders. As disciples of Christ, we are called to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20) and equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-12). The more we ask Who, the more opportunities open up to let others serve, grow, lead, teach, etc. This book has shown me the value of stepping back and asking Who instead of How.

We all need help

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. Jordan was drafted by the Bulls in 1984 and quickly became a star, but the Bulls never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Michael needed a Who, so the bulls traded for Scottie Pippen in 1987. They made playoffs and made it to the second round finally, only to get beat by the Pistons. They added another Who in 1989 when Phil Jackson became the coach. They rest is history; the Bulls won 6 championships from 1991-1998. Even Michael Jordan couldn’t get it done by himself.

”Who” creates results, “How” creates problems

How is linear, who is exponential. Jesus poured himself into 12 disciples who went on to spread the gospel to the nations through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught, equipped, and modeled what he wanted the disciples to do, and then he sent the who’s out to do it for themselves. This obviously worked, because here I sit 2,000 years later in Orlando, Florida, following Jesus Christ.

Procrastination is actually a form of wisdom

Procrastination is wisdom-if you listen to it.

Often times, I procrastinate on something because I lack the knowledge and capability to complete it. In these situations, stop and ask who? Who is the person with the knowledge to help you get to the next step or who is the person with the capability that should do this task? In the church facility world, we have all seen “church workday” projects that sound great and cheap until you have to fix the mess 1 year later. It is more wise to ask for help.

Sometimes, it’s just a lack of motivation or discipline to start, like middle school book reports. My mom used to say “eat the frog” in those situations because the only way to eat a frog is to just take a giant bite and get it over with.

Time creates money

The more you can delegate tasks to Who’s, the more free your mind becomes. This leaves space for creativity and ultimately, better results in the areas that only you can accomplish. This also leaves time for side hustles if you’re into that.

Eliminating decision fatigue from your life should be one of your primary goals if you want to be a high performer and increase your income.

I believe that Who not How is a safeguard against burnout in ministry and business. We are not designed to carry the burdens we willingly place on ourselves.

If you have enough money to solve a problem, you don’t have a problem

This one is simple: Hiring the right person to fix a problem is the easiest solution to the problem. Time is the greatest commodity - if possible, trade money for time.

Commit to results by investing in “whos”

Transformational leaders invest in their Who’s, challenge them, help them clearly see the vision, and ultimately, get their Who’s just as committed and invested as they are.

Leaders train up the next generation. Leaders replace themselves. Leaders serve others. Invest in your spouse, invest in your kids, invest in your team, invest in your church members, invest in Who’s and the long term results will reveal themselves.

See WHOS as investments, not costs

It is easy to look at your payroll during budget season and see employees as “costs.” Employees that are seen as investments, that bring value to the organization, will usually perform better. No one enjoys feeling like a “cost” or a “burden.”

Invest in the right people and the right projects.

It is not the role of the leader to explain how the job is done.

The Who determines how they will best go about getting the job done. All they need is clarity about what specifically “done” looks like.
Leaders should be committed to results, not to a particular process.

Delegation that leads to a Who taking ownership and responsibility needs clarity on what “done” is, otherwise it turns into abdication or micromanaging. Usually, Who’s will come up with a new and better way to accomplish the goal when they are given the freedom.

Be a WHO for others

This one was convicting. I didn’t realize it, but I’m still guilty. So often I view relationships from a selfish point of view asking, “what can I get?”

Ask “What’s in it for THEM?”

Serve others. Seek their good.

Always be the buyer

In order to have freedom of relationship, you can no longer engage with people that don’t align with your vision.

Stop working with/hiring/collaborating with people who don’t fit your vision or culture. There are more options, just keep asking Who? until you get the right one.

As you say no to people and opportunities that don’t align with the vision of your future self, your confidence will increase. Your team will also become more confident in you as a leader.

Genuinely seek to be a hero to your WHOS

Who do you want to be a hero to?

This is a great question to ask often. I want to be a hero to my wife, my son, my daughter, my family, my friends, my church, my community.

As a husband, dad, and pastor, does my schedule reflect that? Do I allow margin for interruption like Jesus did? Am I working from consistent abiding in Christ? Am I visiting the sick and the widows? Am I present with my kids at dinner? Am I making disciples one person at a time?

Competition comes from a scarcity mindset and ego

Shaq and Kobe won 3 championships in a row, but they often fought over the ball, who was number one, and Shaq ended up leaving. Imagine how many more championships they would have won together.

I don’t know about your city, but there seems to be competition between evangelical churches in mine. It’s silly, because it’s not about us. The bride of Christ that is self-centered doesn’t make sense. The scarcity mindset has to go. There are more people who need to be reached for the gospel in our neighborhoods and communities than can fit in all our church buildings combined. We need each other, we need other pastors, we need to pray for our cities together, we need to plant more churches. We need God to move. We need to set our egos aside and proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).

WHOS expand the vision

Who not How allows the vision to grow. More Who’s on mission toward the same goal means bigger results. To only ask how stunts growth and opportunity. I encourage you to identify one thing you can hand off to a Who and identify one new thing you want to see accomplished through a Who.