Why.

My four years old granddaughter has, like most children of her age a favorite question. WHY?

Not only is she using it too often in her conversation with me (that‘s my perception), but also consecutively. Psychologists tell us, that WHY is used extensively when children start building their own opinion. In our conversations with adults, how often do we hear that question again?

Rarely. What happens to us on our way to become an adult? Have we already understood everything? Are our opinions already carved in stone? Have we stopped learning? Have we lost our desire to strive for deeper understanding?

When I look back at the business opportunities we have missed or lost, I think it is because we did not ask WHY more often.

WHY is the question to reveal the purpose. Purpose is our most important driver and source of energy. We might not be aware of it, purpose is not always obvious, but might be well hidden by many layers.

The famous Austrian Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who had survived Nazi concentration camps liked to quote Nietzsche „those who have a ‚why‘ to live, can bear with almost any ‚how‘“. And Frankl added „the point is not what you can expect from life, but rather what life expects from us”. We should have the same mindset when falling in love with someone or working for a company. What can my partner in love or at work, my children, my employer, my boss expect from me?

For whatever we do there is a why. Are we really aware of it?

Book recommendations:

• Start with Why, Simon Sinek.

• Build to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Jim Collins & Jerry Porras.

• Perspectives on Purpose. Leading Voices on Building Brands and Businesses for the Twenty-First Century, Editor Nina Montgomery.

Snapcard: on Instagram @love.lead.create

Next week‘s post: Communication.