Why the most successful investors ask “Who?” instead of “How?”
When most of us encounter a problem or set a goal, our first instinct is to ask: “How can I accomplish this?” According to Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy in their book “Who Not How” [1] this question, while natural, fundamentally limits our potential for success.
The authors propose a transformative alternative: “Who can help me achieve this?” This simple shift in questioning forms the foundation for what Sullivan and Hardy argue is the most important principle for achieving bigger goals while creating more freedom in your life.
The Expertise Trap
The book’s central insight challenges our deeply ingrained belief in self-reliance. Sullivan and Hardy argue that we do not excel at everything, nor should we attempt to do so. While each of us possesses unique strengths and expertise, there are countless areas where others have dedicated years to mastering skills we lack.
More importantly, tasks that drain our energy and enthusiasm often energize and fulfill other people. The detailed financial analysis that exhausts you after a long day might be exactly what gives an accountant a sense of purpose and accomplishment. The marketing strategy that feels overwhelming to you could be an exciting creative challenge for someone else.
This principle extends far beyond professional contexts. Whether you need home renovations completed, want to learn a new skill, plan a family vacation, or organize a community event, the “Who Not How” approach can dramatically improve both your results and your experience.
Sullivan and Hardy organize their philosophy around four progressive freedoms that emerge when you consistently apply the “Who Not How” mindset. Each freedom builds upon the previous one, creating a compounding effect that transforms how you approach goals and challenges.
Freedom of Time
The first freedom focuses on reclaiming your most precious resource: time. Rather than spending weeks learning a new skill or months figuring out a complex process, you gain immediate access to someone else’s expertise and established systems. This approach requires moving beyond transactional engagements toward building genuine relationships. The authors emphasize that effective “whos” are typically successful, ambitious people in their own right and should be treated as such.
The advantage of working with a “who” is that you gain access to their expertise immediately, without having to become an expert yourself. This allows you to move faster and become more efficient than if you tried to meet your goals alone. By bringing in the right other person, you have increased the resources being brought to bear on the goal and thus the chances for success. It also helps you grow beyond your current limitations as the “who” will challenge your perspective and approach.
The key to implementing this freedom lies in developing absolute clarity about your vision. You must articulate precisely what you want to achieve, why it matters, what success looks like, and what happens if you fail to reach your goal. Only with this clarity can you effectively communicate your needs to potential collaborators and evaluate whether they can truly help you succeed.
Interestingly, the authors suggest you may need a “who” to help you find the right “who,” since you might not already know the ideal person for your specific need. This meta-application of the principle acknowledges that networking and relationship-building are themselves specialized skills.
Once you identify the right person, the authors stress a crucial point: resist the urge to micromanage. You engaged them because they are the expert in their domain. Define the desired outcome clearly, then trust them to determine the best methods for achieving it.
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Freedom of Money
As you begin freeing up time through strategic partnerships, you create space to focus on activities that generate the highest returns on your unique skills and knowledge. The authors argue that this focus shift is essential for breaking through income and impact limitations.
Sullivan and Hardy introduce an important distinction between two types of problems we encounter in life:
- Technical problems have known solutions. If the solution exists and falls outside your area of expertise, finding someone who has already mastered it is typically more efficient than learning it yourself. Examples include tax preparation, home repairs, website development, or event planning.
- Adaptive problems lack established solutions and require creative thinking or innovation. These problems may benefit from your direct involvement, particularly when they intersect with your existing expertise or passion areas.
The underlying principle is that success is measured by results achieved, not by personal effort invested. This mindset shift allows you to accomplish significantly more while working within your areas of strength and interest. By leveraging the right “whos” you are able to accomplish more.
Freedom of Relationships
Beyond the practical partnerships you develop to achieve specific goals, the “Who Not How” approach fundamentally changes the quality of relationships in your life. As you free up time and energy, you can be more selective about the people you choose to work and socialize with. Instead of tolerating difficult colleagues because they deliver results, or enduring demanding clients because they pay well, you gain the freedom to engage primarily with people who inspire your best performance and align with your values. The authors describe this as surrounding yourself with “people who remind you more of the future than the past.”
Building these meaningful relationships requires offering genuine value to others consistently over time. This creates collaborative partnerships where everyone involved contributes within their area of expertise while moving toward their individual goals.
The book illustrates this principle through the authors’ own collaboration. Dan Sullivan excels at generating innovative concepts and frameworks, while Benjamin Hardy possesses exceptional writing skills. Rather than Sullivan struggling to write the book himself or Hardy attempting to develop the core concepts independently, they leveraged each other’s strengths to create something superior to what either could have produced alone.
Freedom of Purpose
As you build relationships and collaborate with other ambitious people, your goals naturally expand beyond your original vision. Working with the right team means incorporating their perspectives, experiences, and objectives, resulting in outcomes that transcend any individual’s initial concept.
This expansion requires maintaining a growth mindset—allowing both your goals and your identity to evolve over time. The person who initially wanted to organize a neighborhood cleanup might discover a passion for environmental advocacy. Someone who sought help with financial planning might become inspired to educate others about wealth building.
The authors pose a powerful question that encapsulates this freedom: “Whose hero do you want to be?” By establishing goals that reach beyond personal benefit, you become a source of inspiration for others while creating opportunities to help them achieve their own aspirations.
Summary
What makes “Who Not How” particularly valuable is its universal applicability. The principle works whether you are launching a business, improving your health, strengthening relationships, advancing your career, or pursuing personal interests. For entrepreneurs, it could involve partnering with specialists in areas like marketing, operations, or technology instead of attempting to master every aspect of business management. For individuals focused on wealth building, the principle applies to everything from tax optimization and investment analysis to property management and financial planning. Rather than spending evenings and weekends learning these specialized skills, you can engage experts while focusing your energy on maximizing your primary income source.
The “Who Not How” philosophy aligns naturally with an abundance mindset—the belief that there is enough success, opportunity, and resources for everyone to thrive. When you seek out others to help you achieve your goals, you simultaneously create opportunities for them to utilize their expertise and advance their own objectives. This collaborative approach contrasts sharply with the scarcity-based thinking that drives most people to hoard knowledge, attempt everything independently, and view others primarily as competition. Sullivan and Hardy demonstrate that the most successful people consistently look for ways to create win-win scenarios where everyone involved benefits from the collaboration.
For high-achieving professionals who often pride themselves on self-reliance and comprehensive knowledge, this book offers a liberating alternative: the recognition that leveraging other people’s expertise is not a sign of weakness or inadequacy, but rather a strategic approach that enables you to accomplish more while focusing on activities that align with your unique strengths and interests. The question is not whether you can figure out how to do something yourself—the question is whether doing it yourself represents the best use of your time, energy, and talents. “Who Not How” provides both the philosophical framework and practical tools for making that assessment across every domain of your life.
As Zig Ziglar says “You can have anything you want in life if you just help enough people get what they want”. Who not How gives you a framework for how to accomplish that.
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This article is my opinion only, it is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Always do your own research and due diligence. Always consult your lawyer for legal advice, CPA for tax advice, and financial advisor for financial advice.