Why do we do what we do?

Why do we do it in the way we do it?

Why do we want to keep doing what we are doing?

Why do the previous questions matter so much?

Why?

It’s one of the first questions we ask as a child, it can be asked in relation to almost anything.  At the end of any statement, you can almost certainly ask:  Why?

Try it now, it will work…… Why?

Recently I have become aware of the real power of ‘Why?’ for my business.

Have you heard of "the 5 Whys"?

It’s a method of getting to the root of a particular problem - by the time you get to the 4th or 5th level of "Why?", you are getting to the truth of the matter and have exhausted the “flannel” of the first couple of answers.  By asking the same simple question over and over again, you really get to the heart of the problem.

Another powerful use is to ask yourself as a business owner:  “Why do we do what we do as a business?”

It’s a simple question, but for me I had to really dig deep into why we do what we do. The answer isn’t “to earn money” - that is the result of the why.

I found that defining why we do what we are already doing validated the hard work involved.  It also enabled me to share this with the guys working for the business and, going forward, it allows us to include the why into our recruitment process, giving us a better chance of attracting brand-matched candidates.

On a personal note, defining the company’s why opens up a new way of thinking, planning and monitoring.

It’s not a destination, it’s a crusade, doing good things and helping our amazing clients. We don’t stop asking “are we on track with our why ? Can we be better ? Are we all pulling in the same direction for our why?“

For me, that’s the real power of ‘Why?’