Ranjay Gulati

If you understand your why, then everything else falls into place.

These people are very connected to the why.

The worst time to try to figure that out is during a crisis.

Right, right.

Right?

So it's not an ideal moment to do that thing.

Oh, I'll deal with that when I have to deal with a situation.

you ain't going to be able to deal with the situation.

It's interesting.

One of my colleagues studies white-collar criminals and studies all these people who are white-collar, meaning they had high-paying, high-powered jobs who end up in jail.

And it's interesting, one of the common themes is they never clarify their own moral anchor and principle, belief, in advance.

They were like, they said, I'm very pragmatic.

I figured out my moral principles in the moment as situation demanded.

And that's the worst recipe, not to only land yourself in jail, but also you don't have a ready-made resource you might need to take bold action.

What do you believe in?

Why are you here?

I look at some of the most insightful people I've met.

They have great self-awareness and self-clarity.

And I go back to the why question.

I think moral principles and values are great, but the ultimate unlock is the why question.