The WHY is one of the most important components of the business, if not the most important component.  Yet, it is also one of the most overlooked, if not the most overlooked components as well.

We all know how, when and where to do the WHAT (the things that land on your to do list).  Your team is comprised of competent people with varying levels of expertise.  Congrats!  Unfortunately, if you want a team of absolute rock stars regardless of their level of expertise, you must inform them of the WHY.

The WHY is essentially why you are in business.  What is the moral standing by which the company was created on?  What is the impact to the consumer?  What is the impact in the community?  What results will this product produce in the greater good of humanity?  Sure, your products may not cure cancer but I’d be willing to bet that they help someone feel joy.  Even if the joy is indirect, meaning that your customer will utilize your product as a component of a larger project that will in turn help them to achieve one of their goals. 

We all spend an inordinate amount of time at work.  People need to know that their time is really worth something; something more than just a paycheck.  When your employees understand the why, they are more likely to have buy-in with the product and company.  When they have buy-in and a sense of personal responsibility to the why, they ultimately become more committed to the why.  That means they are more likely to do all the WHATS that land on their desk. Do you see how one thing truly does effect the other?

Put you why on the wall.  Frame it.  Write it on the white board in the conference room.  Write it on the top of the agenda for every meeting.  Include it in your signature block to your team.  Make it the header image on your project management tool.  Put it on a t-shirt and give it to your team at your next quarterly activity.  Not hosting quarterly activities yet?  Check out why team activities are important.

Make it the first thing your team sees every day and will see several times throughout the day.  Make it a topic of discussion.  Make it something they can all recite on demand.  Make it second nature.  Make it why your employees show up and give 100% every day. 

If you want your team to have a sense of ownership in their job, you need to inform them on how their job impacts the overall mission and vision of the company.  Share with them the results as well.  How are your products and services changing lives?  Let your team know where the company fits in the community. 

Don’t forget to celebrate the successes. Celebrate the big wins with your team.  Share customer feedback.  Building cohesive teams is an active sport.  Plan to spend as much time as possible on the field winning the game. 

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Need More?

Need a little more guidance planning for the success of your business? I'll let you in on a secret - I need guidance all the time!  Really!  The absolute best thing I have ever done for my business was to decide not to do it all alone.

That's why I built the DoverDrive Experience.  I know what it's like to carry the weight of a growing business on your shoulders and feel the pressure of having to know everything at all times.  It's exhausting and impossible.

Inside the DoverDrive Experience, you're getting learning/doing content shared with you EVERY week.  That means you create a cycle of business development.

You see, the biggest mistake that business owners make is that they only work ON their business when something isn't going right or when they don't have enough business to meet financial goals.  The truth is, if you work on yourbusiness continuously, you'd have less problems and less periods of feast or famine.

Join us inside the DoverDrive Experience and let's get started GROWING your business.