Understanding Your "Why"
Your core purpose or “Why” is the reason you have formed your creative practice boiled down to a single sentence (or two). This exercise will help you to understand your purpose and communicate it to the world.
How to Identify Core Purpose: 5 Whys
- Start with WHAT you do. “We make X products or deliver Y services”
- Next, ask “WHY is that important?” How do you make a difference in the lives of your customers?
- Ask the WHY question again and again (5 times – Don’t cheat and stop with 3 whys!), each time brainstorming and charting your answers.
- After a few whys, you’ll find that you’re getting down to the fundamental purpose of the organization.
- Review all the different answers to the WHY question, searching for the answer that resonates most, generates some passion, and gets to the heart of your organization’s Core Purpose.
Questions to Test & Refine Your Core Purpose
- Do you find this purpose personally inspiring, and does it make you feel proud of your company?
- Can you envision this purpose being as valid 100 years from now as it is today?
- Does this purpose help you decide which opportunities and activities to say YES to and which ones to say NO to?
- Is this purpose authentic (not merely words on paper that “sound nice”), and would it be greeted with enthusiasm rather than cynicism?
Putting Your Core Purpose Into Words
When you’ve got your purpose figured out, try and put it in words. Keep in mind, it doesn’t need to be a description of your products and services. It needs to be a succinct description of the impact of those products and services, and it usually begins with ‘we.’ And it should speak to your highest aspirations, it doesn’t need to be something you’re delivering on 100 percent today.
Downloadable PDF and Word versions of the Understanding Your “Why” Exercise
Understanding Your "Why" Exercise PDF
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A downloadable PDF version of the 'Undertanding Your "Why" exercise'
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Understanding Your "Why" Exercise Word Document
Word doc: 67.50 KB
A downloadable Word version of the 'Undertanding Your "Why" exercise'
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