It Takes Two

Walt Disney was the visionary, the man who took the risk, but his brother, Roy Disney brought the dream to life.  Martin Luther King was the man with the dream, but it was Ralph Abernathy, a man whose name has been long forgotten, who stood up after Dr. King and told people what to do.  Bill Gates was the WHY guy who imagined a PC on every desk, Bill Gates imagined a world in which we would all be able to achieve our true potential.  But it was Paul Allen, lurking in the shadows, who knew HOW to make it happen.

No matter how clear the vision, no matter how high the risk tolerance, a leader is nothing with out the first person to stand-up to join.  For a movement to grow, for an idea to spread and for a company to become something special...it takes two. The dancer is WHY. The first follower is HOW.  When those two unite - watch WHAT happens.

Derek Sivers from MuckWork sums it up best:

Comments

[CathyD]

Good post. Reminds me a lot of a book I recently read called "The Power of 2" by Rodd Wagner. William Cunningham's point (below) is well taken: "generally sums up to more than two".

[Yugandhar]

great! thanks for this post.

[Mark Horoszowski]

P.S. GREAT post - and thanks for sharing!

[Mark Horoszowski]

I agree with the power of two... but there is also something to be said about the Rule of the 3rd Person - It's the 3rd person that creates the tipping point... Here is my/Seth's take: http://www.helpinghelp.org/2009/08/rule-of-3rd-person-and-why-you-need-one.html

[Vinay Kumar]

Funny clip yet the message so powerful. And it's time that the HOW guys and gals finally get recognition for the critical role for without them WHAT never happens. Thanks Simon.

[Lilian]

Agreed! Glad to read that dreaming still makes sense. Alas, I think a vast majority of schools and companies want us to think "how" to do stuff.

Then, my question would be "how to choose the right person" for the HOW part ?

[William Cunningham]

The POWER OF TWO generally sums up to more than two. It is always exciting when a business discussion leads to an idea that is better than the original ideas contributed by each participant.