Who? What? How?

These three questions guide every effective organization. Answering only two of the three means falling short of its highest potential.

I’ve been personally involved with nearly a dozen businesses and non-profits. I’ve spoken in great detail to others about hundreds more they’re involved with. And when it comes to foundational questions of “mission/vision/values,” it all leads back to these three questions:

Who are we? - These core values define the employees, executives, members, congregants, etc. They are not aspirational; they are simply the genetic makeup of the organization.

What do we do? - This is the business or organization’s purpose. Why do we exist? What is our role in our industry/community/geography?

How do we do it? - This is how we will make the “what we do” happen, using the “who we are.” This is the hard work. This is the grind. Without this, our team members don’t know “where we’re going” or what their roles should be.

The most uncertain times in my businesses have been before we’ve answered the “how” question or when we’re pivoting from one answer to another. I can see it on my team’s face. “I trust you, but I’m still unsure where we’re headed.”

And going too long without answering the “how” question causes people to move on. Quite simply, we lose faith in businesses and organizations that talk about the who and what but not the how.

And only answering two of the three questions simply does not work:

Who + What, No How: Your business is all talk and no action. These are the mission statements and core values hanging on the wall but are not “lived out.”

What + How, No Who: Building a team without knowing who you’re looking for is tough. And if those new to your organization are misaligned with the “who,” they rarely stick around for long.

Who + How, No What: Without the “what,” you try to be “all things to all people.” This might look like selling too many products or services to too wide of an audience.

As leaders, it’s up to us to ensure all three questions are not only answered but communicated often. In fact, in EOS (Traction), the “who, what, and how” are reviewed regularly:

• Weekly - Core values are reviewed at staff meetings.

• Weekly - The leadership team filters all significant decisions through the 1, 3, and 10-year plans. “Will this get us closer to or take us further from these goals?”

• Quarterly - The leadership team confirms the 1, 3, and 10-year plans or changes them as needed to align with current reality.

• Annually - A new 1-year plan is generated, and the 3 and 10-year plans are updated as needed.

Defining the “who, what, and how” and leading your team toward them is the essence of leadership. When done well, everything else “falls into place.” When done poorly, organizations either limp along or cease to exist.

Books of Note: Our Integrator, Jake, recommended Shawn Achor’s The Happiness Advantage to me, and it was a great read (listen?). I realized halfway through that this book was familiar because it’s been cited so often in many other books I’ve read over the years. It was nice to go back to the “source,” so to speak. I would recommend reading the book instead of listening, as it’s rather dense, and I think reading through it would help with retention.

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