Who’s on first? What’s on second?

I’m reading Good to Great by Jim Collins. It’s an OUTSTANDING business book! I know it has been around for a while (seven years), but I never got around to reading it. During my business trip this week, I jumped on the first 120 or so pages. I’m getting a lot out of it (quite an understatement).

From a business book perspective, it is the gold standard. I’m not saying it is THE definitive business book out there, but it’s a rock solid entry on any business-related reading list. Additionally, it’s #35 on Amazon’s bestsellers. That’s damn impressive for a seven year old book that hasn’t been endorsed by Oprah. 

On a personal level, there’s one concept that really grabbed my attention. The chapter is called, “First Who…Then What.” The author describes his findings around how “good-to-great” companies “first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it.”

The author and his research team “expected to find that the first step in taking a company from good to great would be to set a new direction, a new vision and strategy for the company, and then to get people committed and aligned behind that new direction.” I would have expected the same thing.

This goes beyond business for me…and this is the reason for this post. I see how this concept applies to relationships, friendships, etc. 

In Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man (another GREAT book), Sam Keen writes, “…probably the single most important bit of advice I ever got about being a man. ‘There are two questions a man must ask himself: The first is Where am I going? and the second is Who will go with me? If you ever get these questions in the wrong order you are in trouble.’”

I read and discussed this idea from Keen seven years ago. It made sense to me. It still does. I see the beauty in the clarity of these questions and answering them in this order. Pick a direction, then find people (or a person) whose direction complements or lines up with your own. I have drawn on this idea over the years since I first read it.

Then, I read the “First Who…Then What” chapter by Collins. Collins talks about beginning with “who” rather than “what,” and how this allows an organization to more easily adapt to a changing world. This resonates with me, too. He says, “If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You’ve got a problem.”

Damn if that doesn’t make sense. It seems more dynamic than the first model. In a relationship, get the right person on the bus (or get on their bus…I don’t think bus ownership really matters here), then create something together. Both people bring qualities of wanting to move the relationship forward, and both are open to creating something that might not have existed before. Wicked cool.

I’ve lived both examples in my lifetime, but the Collins theory seems more alive to me right now. Maybe it’s a newer concept. Maybe it’s an apples to oranges comparison. Relating to oneself, “first what” makes sense. What do I see for me? What is my direction? What is alive in me with which others can connect? Relating to others, “first who” makes sense. Does this person have the qualities I seek? Together, can we create something great, even if we don’t know what it looks like yet?

What’s your take? I’d love to hear it.

Happy weekend and much love!
Greg