The Win and the Why

The thirst for competition and victory are fueled by our values, not the other way around. We can not afford to fish for values and fabricate conviction simply because it helps us win. Because, in the long haul, we will not win.

After a while people ask themselves: “Why did I get into this to begin with?” Sometimes we need to ask ourselves to reach back and pull up that memory or set of experiences that lead us to embark upon the path we are on. That sometimes is probably more often than we think and that memory is probably more central to who we are than we know.

The truth is… an organization, movement, company or campaign is treading water, at best, when they only focus on the win instead of the why.

The hunger to win in business is cancerous if it leads you to cheat stakeholders, abuse employees and take shortcuts. You will have lost your values for the sake of winning the bottom line. Obvious right? Well, it is just as true in political campaigns.

Our values drive our action. We must lead from a place of conviction and then offer up the vision we see for the world around us. And when that world changes, our assessment of the best way forward may change as well… win or lose.