Why Before What: Purpose

Strategy usually starts with the what—the project, the restructure, the new system. But teams experience change in the opposite direction: they ask, often silently, “Why are we doing this?” When the “why” is vague, every decision feels negotiable. When purpose is sharp, it becomes a filter that aligns choices, tradeoffs, and momentum.

Why “why” comes first

Purpose is not a slogan; it is the intended change in the world your work is meant to create. It answers three questions in a single sweep:

• For whom are we doing this?
• What problem are we solving?
• What will be different if we succeed?

When that story is clear, teams can make thousands of decentralized decisions that still line up. Without it, work collapses into tasks and compliance.

What purpose actually does for teams

• Aligns priorities: Purpose makes it easier to say “not now” to good ideas that don’t serve the core outcome.
• Reduces friction: People argue less about how when they share a crisp view of why.
• Sustains effort: In tough stretches, meaning—not willpower—keeps people engaged.
• Unlocks voice: When the “why” is explicit, anyone can flag misalignment without it feeling personal.

Designing a sharp purpose statement

A useful purpose statement is short, specific, and testable. You should be able to ask, “Did we move closer to this last quarter?” and get a real answer.

Try this template:

We exist to [do what] for [who] so that [what changes in their world].

Examples:

• “We exist to make frontline work safer and simpler for our team members so that they go home with more energy than they arrived with.”
• “We exist to turn complex strategy into daily moves for managers so that their teams always know what matters this week.”

Translating purpose into decisions

Purpose earns its keep when it shapes choices in the wild. Build a simple habit: attach the “why” to the decision, not just the slide.

• Before approving work: “How does this move our purpose forward this quarter?”
• When saying no: “This is a good idea, but it pulls us away from our purpose of X.”
• In conflict: “If we put our purpose at the center, which option serves it best?”

Keeping purpose alive in your rhythms

Purpose fades when it only shows up at the annual meeting. Keep it in the weekly flow of work:

• Huddles: Start with one story of a customer, student, or guest whose experience was closer to your purpose this week.
• Demos: Ask, “Where can we see our purpose in this work?” If it’s not visible, simplify or adjust.
• Retros: Close with, “Did we live our purpose in the way we made decisions?”

Common traps

• Vague inspiration: “Be world class” or “deliver excellence” doesn’t guide tradeoffs.
• Purpose drift: Adding initiatives that don’t trace back to your core “why.”
• Leader-only narrative: Purpose written in the C-suite but never translated with teams.
• No behavioral link: Values on the wall that never show up in feedback or decisions.

Quick start for the next 30 days

1. Write your purpose in one sentence using the “We exist to…” template.
2. Share it with your team and ask, “Where is this already true? Where is it not yet true?”
3. Choose three decisions this month to narrate out loud through the lens of that purpose.
4. In your next retro, ask, “Which actions this month best expressed our purpose?” and double down on those patterns.

“What” is the work; “why” is the story that makes the work coherent. When leaders put why before what, teams get more than direction—they get meaning, and with it, the energy to sustain real change.