MENTAL MODEL · M0283

Who Not How

BusinessmediumManagement

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Proposed by Dan Sullivan. When facing a new goal, the instinctive reaction should not be "How do I do it?" but rather "Who can help me do it?" Scaffolding role: expansion of the circle of competence. Limited by time, you cannot master all skills. By finding the "Who" who already possesses the skill, you can instantly acquire that capability. This is the key mindset for transitioning from an "individual contributor" to a "resource integrator."

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Expansion of the circle of competence. Limited by time, you cannot master all skills. By finding the "Who" who already possesses the skill, you can instantly acquire that capability. This is the key mindset for transitioning from an "individual contributor" to a "resource integrator."

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Human time and skills are limited; you cannot personally master all the abilities needed to achieve every goal. By identifying "Who" rather than obsessing over "How," you can leverage others' existing capabilities to take over tasks instantly, achieving a leveraged expansion of your circle of competence.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/4

Practice this model in one real situation:

Clarify the goal you want to achieve
Ask yourself "Who already knows how to do this?" instead of "How do I do it?"
Find and delegate to the right person or team
Invest the saved time in higher-leverage activities.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

account_treeGenealogyexpand_more

menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

link
finsync.comhttps://www.finsync.com/start-to-scale/find-your-problem-solving-whos-a-summary-of-who-not-how-by-dan-sullivan-and-dr-benjamin-hardy/ZH · Explicit
verified

RELATED MODELS