Simon Sinek says his vision is “a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired to go to work, feel safe when they’re there, and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.”
Why - This is the core belief of the business. It's why the business exists.
How - This is how the business fulfills that core belief.
What - This is what the company does to fulfill that core belief
Ask open-ended questions and avoid starting with Why. Your answers and stories do not always need to be happy ones or happy endings. It's what makes you who you are today.
- Who in your life has helped make you the person you are today? (coach, mentor, teacher, family member) and how?
- What did you most admire about them?
- How did hearing their words or watching their actions make you feel?
- Who else helped shape who you are today? Repeat as often as you like.
- Think of a day at work when, as you headed home, you might have said to yourself, “I would have done that for free.” What happened that day to make you say that?
- Think of your worst day at work, the kind of day you hope never to go through again. What happened?
- What is the earliest, specific, happy childhood memory that comes to your mind?
- At school, what was an experience you loved?
- What is your favorite book and why?
- What is your favorite movie and why?
- Describe some situations where you had a blast, fun, or great time.
- What are some things that bother you?
- What would you say are your core beliefs in life?
- What have you volunteered for?
- Have you ever done a pay it forward? When?
- How do you know when you are fulfilled? How do you feel?
- What are the most important values in your life and what they mean to you?
- What would your friends say your values are in life?
- What has been a pivotal moment in your life, one you realized nothing would ever be the same?
- Have you ever been so absorbed in a task that you forget to drink and eat? Describe the situation.
- What happened that changed the way you think about the world and your role in it?
- What have you accomplished that you’re really proud of? (Be sure to make a mental note of who else was involved. For example, who help you, who cheered you on, who was waiting for you at the finish line?)
Dig deeper questions to ask to get more details from any story:
- How did that make you feel?
- What is it about that experience that you absolutely loved?
- You’ve probably felt this same feeling before. What is it about this story that makes it special (or makes you feel proud)?
- How did this experience affect you and who you’ve become?
- What was the lesson from that experience that you still carry with you?
- Of all the stories you could have shared with me, what makes this specific one so special that you chose to tell me?
- If someone else features prominently in the story, ask them how that person made a difference in their lives or what they love or admire about that person?
- Tell me what you meant when you said, “It really...!”
- You’ve probably felt disappointed before. Describe how this particular feeling or disappointment was so different that it still comes to mind after all of these years.