{"id":53643,"date":"2022-05-27T13:29:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T17:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=53643"},"modified":"2025-01-20T07:32:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T12:32:14","slug":"find-your-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/find-your-why\/","title":{"rendered":"How Important is an Organization’s WHY?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since Simon Sinek\u2019s 2009 TED Talk<\/a> went viral, \u201cfinding your WHY\u201d has become extremely fashionable for businesses of all sizes. For many business owners and leaders, Sinek\u2019s video was their first encounter with the idea of leveraging the purpose behind an organization.<\/p>\n

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And\u00a0Sinek\u2019s ideas, while not unprecedented, have had a seismic impact. His basic argument is that while most companies understand what they do, and how they do it, they don\u2019t generally understand why<\/em> they do it\u2014and as Sinek and many others have contested, understanding this WHY is crucial for long-term business success.<\/p>\n

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So the question is\u2026 is it really? Would all companies truly benefit from understanding their WHY? The purpose that goes beyond simply building good products and generating a tidy profit? Or, is this more of an abstract concept that can\u2019t (or perhaps shouldn\u2019t) be applied to real, functioning businesses?<\/p>\n

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In this piece, we set out to answer whether having a strong purpose is actually important to the health, longevity, and success of a company.<\/p>\n

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\"Finding<\/a><\/p>\n

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What it really means to have a purpose<\/h2>\n

Purpose is why<\/em> you do what you do. For most employees, their WHY would appear to be \u201cto make money\u201d. But the real answer is \u201cto make money so that<\/strong>\u2026\u201d they can enable the most important parts of their lives.<\/p>\n

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In business, it\u2019s the same. Your company has to make money, but that\u2019s not usually its purpose<\/em>. That\u2019s not the owner\u2019s<\/em> purpose.<\/p>\n

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The WHY for Southwest Airlines, for example, isn\u2019t to provide reliable or cost-effective flights. It\u2019s to connect people to what\u2019s important in their lives through friendly air travel<\/em>. This gives the company an identity that sets it apart from other airlines.<\/p>\n

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To take another example, Airbnb says that its purpose is to connect millions of people in real life all over the world, through a community marketplace\u2013 so that you can belong anywhere<\/em>. When building its features or registering new properties, then, it\u2019s not just about tasks and cleanliness\u2014it\u2019s about creating a place where people belong<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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These purpose-driven businesses understand that believing in something bigger than their raw operations\u2014that having an identity<\/em> behind every decision\u2014allows them to connect to their ideal customers (and their employees) better than the (less purpose-driven) competition.<\/p>\n

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They also realize that selling the WHY of their business\u2014not the what or the how\u2014enables them to rally people to their cause, providing extremely loyal customers and sustainable growth.<\/p>\n

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How can you find your purpose?<\/h2>\n

An organization\u2019s purpose is a combination of many factors. It\u2019s the vision of the founder when the company started, and it\u2019s something that is evident in corporate actions, company ethos, and the way employees and customers are treated.<\/p>\n

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The easiest time to determine the purpose behind your business is right at the very start. Whatever was driving<\/em> you to start a new business is your WHY. But over time, this purpose might transform and change.<\/p>\n

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Many companies, like those we looked at above, are able to put a clear name to their purpose. But sometimes it stems from an internal motivation that\u2019s hard to articulate. But even if you can\u2019t yet describe<\/em> your purpose clearly, you can still fulfill it.<\/p>\n

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Are you working to your purpose?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s crucial to understand (or figure out) what your purpose is\u2014but you can\u2019t stop there. You need to make sure you\u2019re actively working towards it, backing it up, and building the right kind of business. We\u2019ve identified 3 common threads<\/strong> between businesses (and business owners) that are working to their purpose:<\/p>\n

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