Why I’m Writing
About Why
I (Jamie) am writing this book because I’m hoping my personal experience, and the experiences I’ve had with leaders in a wide variety of industries, can help you build a high-performing team.
Let me tell you how I got here.
In 2006, I received an offer for the dream job that I had spent the previous dozen years working toward.
I turned it down.
The path to that decision began six months earlier when my daughter was born. Time spent with her was special and made me reflect on my life in a way I hadn’t before. The one area that consumed my thoughts was work.
Since graduating with a degree in business, I had gone on to work in senior roles at major brands. I was following the path that made logical sense. Although I had moments when I was passionate about what I was doing, I often found work frustrating and unfulfilling.
I wondered if there was a better path for me. And so I set off on a journey to discover work that I would both love and excel at.
The “Aha” Moment
I got lots of advice. Most of the people who gave me guidance pointed me in the direction of my past experiences—more of the same.
But somewhere along the way, I met some experts who were discovering new insights around work, happiness, people, and performance. After spending just a short amount of time with them, they were able to show me why I was unhappy with my career. There was a big disconnect between the work I preferred and the work I was actually doing. These were insights about myself I wished I had known years earlier. This was powerful stuff. It was a light-bulb moment when I realized how many other people must be in the same situation.
I knew that insights like this could radically improve the way organizations and people came together.
And so, by the time the offer for my dream job came in, I decided to not go down a path I knew wasn’t a fit for me. Instead, I founded ClearFit to take these new insights to businesses everywhere—and help create a world with happy employees and more productive organizations.
It’s been nine years since that decision. While building a business has certainly had its moments, I am definitely in the right job and have been able to be true to myself. In these same nine years, thousands of organizations have begun to use these new insights to improve the happiness of their employees as well as increase the performance of their teams. It has created a shift that I call “WHAT TO WHY.”
So what exactly do I mean by WHAT TO WHY? This book is a twenty-minute story based on a leader I know that will answer that question. Although the leader is the head of a sales team, the insights are applicable to any team in any industry.
So, if you are a leader who wants to learn about a new approach to increasing the performance of your team, this book is for you. If you are an individual who is struggling to find your path, as I was nine years ago, I have no doubt you’ll find the insights helpful too.
In the meantime, let’s meet Mario, the leader who went from WHAT TO WHY.
—Jamie
Jamie Schneiderman
Founder & CEO
ClearFit