Do you know your why?

Discover how defining your long‑term Why and values can guide your purpose, shape behaviour, and create meaningful personal or organisational success.Why do you exist as an individual, as an organisation?Why do people support you, give to you, buy from you, trust you, employ you?If you don’t know who does?

Knowing your “why” is fundamental

To be successful, you need to know your Why. It’s easier if you have a religion or are a fanatic but for the rest of us we need to work it out. However, you need two Whys: the goal - how you want to have impact/change the world is the first Why ie. Why you exist and Why you choose the way you travel towards your goal is the second Why. This is particularly critical for an organisation. It is not enough to know the vision and goals of the organisation everyone also needs to know why you choose a particular method to achieve these goals and this requires clearly ranked values that translate into culture and how the organisation behaves.

“Winning by being Good” is my manual to help you choose a “good” route to your lifetime Why. I obviously hope that your “Why” will be good or noble - a positive way of changing the world.

Why “whys” aren’t always good or noble, even mine!

Sometimes we settle for the short-term “why” rather than the long-term one, which is more challenging but will take you further. Knowing your long-term “why” gives you a moral compass and the discipline to do what is needed for success, but it's generally more challenging. Generally, a short-term " why " might be doing something easier or nicer, often without thought:

just a bit longer on the phone, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
just one more biscuit, drink, ten minutes in bed

And in organisational terms it might be a short-term fix:

to save money
to make more profit
because nobody will know!

To achieve: understand your Whys - three questions to ask

What do you want people to say about you or your organisation? What do you want to be known for?
How do you want to change the world?
What will make you feel that your life has been worthwhile?

Once you have the answers to “Why you exist” from these questions,, I suggest you handwrite them in a journal or somewhere you can keep them, and sign and date them. Handwriting has a very powerful effect on the brain, and signing your name makes it even more powerful.

Create your own personal recipe to achieve your Why

I like research, and once you have identified the answer to your Why, the temptation is to find the perfect way to achieve it; friends, books, AI, and consultants will all supply answers as though there is a perfect recipe for success.

There isn’t!

There is a perfect recipe for you to achieve your goal but it will be different for someone else with the same goal as you because your values your way of deciding what to do will be different. Just like a recipe some people are allergic or dislike an ingredient so do not bake the cake in the same way as someone else.

The recipe analogy is particularly powerful in organisations. If you have a key ingredient that is critical to your organisation e.g. punctuality or good listening skills, then someone who is allergic to or doesn’t like these ingredients will not be right for you.

Similarly, successful recipes require the right amount of ingredients brought together in a particular way, and this is exactly what successful organisations achieve.

Cookery tips from Inspire2aspire

If you need help refining your Whys and ways to achieve, then Inspire2Aspire can suggest potential ingredients for your success, but every recipe we create with our clients is bespoke so you stay in control.

If you want inspiration or practical ideas, you can purchase my recipe book!! Winning by being Good here

We are also always happy to have a free chat.

Other blogs you may find interesting:

Have you got too many ideas and options?

6 steps to successful growth

Choosing the best legal structure if you want to create positive change in the world

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