What is your purpose, cause or belief?
Why does your company exist?
Why do you get out of bed every morning?
And WHY should anyone care?
Simon Sinek provokes these seemingly simple questions in his best-selling book, Start With Why. Can you answer them for your company?
More importantly, can your employees and your customers answer them about your company?
The chores of running a business will often distract you from your Why if you let them. But examine any great company and you’ll find the Why beaming from every employee, customer testimonial, and advertisement. It’s because Why-focused companies immediately understand that their game is about the customer and what they ultimately need.
If you’re an entrepreneur, think back to the time when you decided to start your business. Was it only money you were concerned about? Or were you displeased with a status quo? What were you so intensely fired up about that made it worth risking your income and reputation? What was the thing you were bringing up in every conversation about your industry?
Write that down. You’re on to something! Buried gently below the sprouting leaves of your early passions are the seedlings of your Why.
If you weren’t there for the startup of your business, finding your Why is just as easy. Simply use Simon’s four questions as your guide. Write your answers down. Pull your team together and ask them to do the same:
Duckett Ladd Answers:
What is your purpose, cause or belief?
Business owners who have real data, and outside perspective on their company financials are infinitely more likely to reach their goals.
Why does your company exist?
To make the lives of our team members and our customers better.
Why do you get out of bed every morning?
Because our team members and customers have dreams they need to fulfill.
And WHY should anyone care?
Because our time on this earth is limited and we need to make the most of it.
We happen to accomplish our Why with accounting and business advice, but accounting and business advice isn’t really the thing that makes us go. With our why as our internal compass, we easily make decisions that allow us to be bigger than us; it’s about how we can change lives.
(The truth is that our Why could be the same Why as a plumber, a donut shop, or a real estate agent. We’re simply deciding that our outcome has to be the impact we make on lives. No other outcome will do.)
In the coming days, reflect on your answers to those first four questions. Ask your team members and your mentors to do the same. While you do this, focus your thinking on every possible way that your product, service and business culture could enhance the lives of those who encounter your company. It’s never about product or talent you offer; It’s the impact on life you provide.
Once you’ve got your Why in hand, come see us. We’ll help you see it through.
PS – Here are a few other “Why” examples from some of our clients:
Klaus, owner of Angler’s Port Marine:
What we do: Sell boats and marine service.
Why we do it: We believe every human being should have the joy of enjoying nature on the water.
Brandon Welch, owner of Frank & Maven Partners in Communication:
What we do: Advertising strategy, media buying, and websites.
Why we do it: We believe every business owner has a story that deserves being told well.
