Our WHY is our purpose, cause or belief—the driving force behind everything we do. Our HOWs are the actions we take when we are at our natural best to bring our WHY to life. Our WHATs are the tangible manifestation of our WHY, the actual work we do every day.

WHATs are products, services and job functions we perform. HOWs are values, guiding principles and actions that make us stand out. The WHY defines what the organization stands for—it is the collective purpose, cause or belief.

As we explained earlier, HOWs must be actions because they are the things you do to bring your WHY to life. Traits and attributes, such as "honesty," or adjectives, such as "determined," are not actions. We turn themes into HOWs by making them actionable.

The WHY can help set a vision to inspire people. The WHY can guide us to act with purpose, on purpose.

I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY

[I]n science we have to be particularly cautious about 'why' questions. When we ask, 'Why?' we usually mean 'How?' If we can answer the latter, that generally suffices for our purposes. For example, we might ask: 'Why is the Earth 93 million miles from the Sun?' but what we really probably mean is, 'How is the Earth 93 million miles from the Sun?' That is, we are interested in what physical processes led to the Earth ending up in its present position. 'Why' implicitly suggests purpose, and when we try to understand the solar system in scientific terms, we do not generally ascribe purpose to it.

Whenever one asks “Why?” in science, one actually means “How?”. “Why?” is not really a sensible question in science because it usually implies purpose and, as anyone who has been the parent of a small child knows, one can keep on asking “Why?” forever, no matter what the answer to the previous question. Ultimately, the only way to end the conversation seems to be to say “Because!

Not the why but the what.

Simply ensuring that WHAT you do proves what you believe makes it easy for those who believe what you believe to find you. You have successfully communicated your WHY based on WHAT you do.

WHY: Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money — that’s a result. By WHY I mean 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?

Remember, the WHY is a filter. When you start with WHY, it attracts people who believe what you believe and repels people who don't.

Start with the “why” and then the “what” and the “how” will be clear

It is not so much what you believe in that matters, as the way in which you believe it and proceed to translate that belief into action.

[W]hy presumes purpose... But what if there isn't purpose? Whenever we say why we really mean how.