Start With Why

I started read this book and I want to post the more interesting elements that grab my attention. And I’ll do it in bullet form 🙂

• behavior is affected by our assumptions or our perceived truths; we make decisions based on what we think we know. For example; “not too long ago, we all believed that the world was flat, that if we traveled too far we would literally fall of the edge of the earth. It wasn’t until that minor detail was revealed — the world is round — that behaviors changed on a massive scale… The correction of a simple false assumption moved the human race forward.”
• whatever the result (of our decisions), we make decisions based on a perception of the world that may not, in fact, be completely accurate.
• so how can we ensure that all our decisions will yield the best results for reasons that are fully within our control? Logic dictates that more information and data are key… More data, however, doesn’t always help, especially if a flawed assumption set the whole process in motion in the first place.”
• assumptions, even when based on sound research, can lead us astray
• “… they engineered the outcome they wanted from the beginning. if they didn’t achieve their desired outcome, they understood it was because of a decision they made at the start of the process.”
• “when faced with a result that doesn’t go according to plan, a series of perfectly effective short-term tactics are used until the desired outcome is achieved. But how structurally sound are those solutions?”
• “… great leaders understand the value in the things we cannot see.”
• “there are those who decide to manipulate  the door to fit to achieve the desired result and there are those who start from somewhere very different. though both courses of action may yield similar short-term results, it is what we can’t see that makes long-term success more predictable for only one: the one that understood why the doors need to fit by design and not be default.”