The Deep River design and development process always start with “why.”
If you’re an inquiry junkie like me, “why” is a word that gets you excited. Nothing activates our curiosity like a good why. But why does “why” matter so much?
Learning — or education in general — often seems like an exercise in answering other peoples’ questions. But real learning comes when we ask our own questions. The questions we care about, the ones that matter to us. “Why” is the beginning of relevance. “Why” is the beginning of the learning journey.
Maybe formal education didn’t really do it for you, and you certainly wouldn’t be alone. All those answers, and what really was the point? What did it mean? How did it connect to us? We didn’t often have the opportunity to explore why that information was important, and why those answers mattered. We struggled to find the relevance. No relevance, no learning.
Yet we’re pretty thoroughly indoctrinated into a way of thinking that emphasizes what above all. It’s where we start, it’s what matters. We, and our organizations and businesses and various other groups, are bottom-up thinkers. Why is an afterthought, if it’s even thought of at all. And that’s such a missed opportunity.
Inspiration starts with why.
Why is the purpose and belief that inspires us to do what we do.
Why is where buy in happens — not what we do, but why we do it.
Why builds trust because it comes from belief.
The most enduring connections between people and ideas and experiences are built on why — not what. If we are clear on the why, the how and the what will flow naturally from it. And when we get stuck, we can go back to the why to regain our direction.
If you’ve never encountered Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle” concept, you need to. It’s a beautiful and simple way to understand the why of why. If you take nothing else away, take this: always start with why.