Don’t Start with Why

We’ve often heard that you should “start with why” an idea popularized by Simon Sinek. Today’s guest asks us to step back and rethink this idea and what we need to do before we can truly understand our why. I love when people challenge us to rethink ideas and are willing to say the hard but necessary things that we might not like to hear but need to hear if we truly want to reach that next level and actualize our goals. This week on the podcast, I’m delighted to introduce you to Brant Menswar.

Brant is a best-selling author, performance coach and named one of the country’s “Top 10″ speakers in motivation. His books and Top 200 podcast (Thoughts That Rock) expand on his ground-breaking work around values-based leadership described as “disarmingly simple and incredibly powerful.” He has helped to change what’s possible for industry-leading organizations like Netflix, Verizon, Anthem, SunTrust, Microsoft, ESPN, Hilton, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and dozens more. Passionate and engaging, Brant encourages audiences to discover their Black Sheep Values® and move forward with deliberate intention. His interactive and entertaining ways of defining what matters most enables audiences to develop the skills necessary to perform at the highest level.

In this episode I particularly appreciate Brant’s vision for how organizations can empower their people to discover, align and activate their values to bridge the many divides that often exist as they address systemic inequities. As you think about speakers for your next event or team meeting, I highly encourage you to consider Brant. His relevance, story, and actionable advice will take an organization from understanding their big picture vision to how decisions are made down to how calendar invites are sent, so that they can maximize their potential.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• What we need to consider before we “start with why”
• How to identify your non-negotiable black sheep values, and why we don’t always actually know what they are
• How a personal tragedy led Brant to discover the importance of understanding your core values and motivated him to help others become more self aware about what drive who we are and what we do.
• How to build bridges within your organization to reach the highest level of performance
• Gut check: are you winging it and the story behind the origin of that phrase
• How to show up as your authentic self in a cancel culture world
• The consequences on not creating healthy spaces where people can connect, collaborate and be heard
• The advice, strategies, and questions Brant shares with leaders to strengthen teams so that they can work better together

To Learn More

To learn more from Brant you can visit his website. Black Sheep is a book that I reference time and time again and you can find it here. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the podcast. Tag me (@AskMsQ) and Brant () online and let us know what your favorite part was, what resonated and what questions you might have.