How to do purpose — connecting your ‘why’ to your ‘what’ & ‘how’

I was watching a video from a brand that highlighted its newly updated program. In the video, the on-camera person stopped to tell us the brand’s purpose. Then, she went back to telling us about the updates to the program. I caught myself thinking about the purpose she shared and not really listening to the message about the updates. I recall thinking that it was a nice message that sounded sincere. And I remember that I really wasn’t sure what it had to do with the updated program. By the time the video was over, I had a vague idea of the organization’s purpose and I had missed a good deal of the message about the updates.

Make your purpose more than a nice thought

Creating the statement of your purpose is important. But if it’s not connected to the ways it comes to life every day, it will always be just a nice statement that nobody remembers. Your ‘why’ should come to life in your ‘what’ and ‘how’. In other words, show people how what you do supports the difference you hope to make in a life, a community, or even the world (your ‘why’ or as I call it, your Big Audacious Meaning). This also applies to how you do what you do. It should be evident to those that you hope to serve that what you do and how you do it make your ‘why’ come to life.