Why It Pays to Discover Your Company’s “Why”

Struggling to connect with prospects and motivate employees? The problem may be a lack of clarity on your organization’s “why.”

DefenseStorm went on this journey recently. We learned that uncovering and utilizing our why was just the thing to boost employee morale and gain a competitive advantage. Here’s our story.

An Aha Moment

For me, it all started when a prospect said, “I see the value, but …”

I knew immediately this exchange meant the person didn’t understand DefenseStorm’s differentiators—and I had to change that and provide clarity to make the sale and achieve our quarterly goals.

At the time, I was also working with inherited company vision and mission statements that felt flat, particularly after events of 2020. Additionally, I was exploring how to land top engineering talent in a competitive market. When Simon Sinek’s “how to discover your why” TED Talk showed up in my LinkedIn feed, I knew this was the catalyst I’d been looking for.

Sinek’s statements resonated with me: People don’t buy what you do; they buy how you do it. Most companies have no idea why their customers are their customers. And if that’s true, they also don’t know why their employees are their employees.

It was time for a new approach.

A Group Discovery

Invigorated by what I’d learned, I gathered my executive team and set out to find DefenseStorm’s why. While outside facilitation can be helpful, I decided to try my hand at leading the process using the tools from Sinek’s book, “Find Your Why.”

I reiterated to the team that a why is discovered, not invented and this was not a branding exercise. The why should also be current—it’s about who we are when we’re at our best, not who we hope to be someday.

After spending time discovering their own whys, the group reconvened to discuss the company’s why, a process I’ll honestly describe as a struggle. Armed with whiteboards and notepads, we combed through our wins and areas of pride to uncover our why. And when we finally found it—”to build a community of trust”—there was initial skepticism that maybe it was too simple.

But as we started to use our new why and apply it across the company, DefenseStorm employees took to it. I remember hearing my sales team naturally incorporate it into pitches and watching other colleagues seek out ways to use it. One DefenseStorm employee used a 3D printer to create a small token that symbolized building a community of trust. People started recognizing colleagues who should receive the token, with recipients proudly displaying it in their workspaces. An internal survey validated my observations by revealing the new why resonated with 78% of DefenseStorm employees.

The external value was there, too. I knew we’d made an impact when I heard prospects start to use the language, a sure sign it was resonating with them. And those quarterly sales numbers? I’m proud to say they’re right on track.

The process of finding your why is definitely a journey, but one with the potential for big ROI. It was way more valuable than I ever thought it would be.

Ready to find your own why?

Here are my key learnings:

• Use the why immediately.
• Call it out when role modeled or recognized.
• Reinforce it over and over.
• Start top-down, then encourage peer to peer.
• Discuss challenges openly.