Find Your Why: a practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team pdfdrive com

Stories Embody the Why
Peter did an organizational or Tribe Why Discovery for a company called La Marzocco. Before the
workshop Peter talked with a few members of the leadership team to learn a bit about the company’s
history since the original founders were no longer there. In 1927, in Florence, Italy, Giuseppe and
Bruno Bambi founded La Marzocco to build espresso machines by hand. Over the decades that
followed, the company has employed a dedicated team of craftsmen who have been a model of
innovation in the industry. Its machines are still built by hand, each signed by its maker, and are bought
by coffee aficionados and specialist coffeehouses worldwide.
Peter used the Tribe Approach in the workshop and heard many stories from employees trying to
articulate the pride they feel for La Marzocco as an organization. He heard someone say, “We’re the
Rolls-Royce of coffee makers and have developed a cult following to rival Harley-Davidson.” They
talked about the workers’ incredible pride in their product, touting how they lavish as much attention
on the unseen parts as on the highly polished stainless-steel exteriors. They told specific stories about
their customers being equally enthusiastic. The team from the customization department talked about
the machines they painted or decorated to each individual customer’s taste. A story was shared of a

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customer who even had a tattoo of the company’s logo on their arm. It was clear to Peter that around
the world, La Marzocco stands for something meaningful to customers and employees alike. Putting
this feeling into words was the tricky bit.
Peter pushed the workshop attendees to dig deeper. He said, “La Marzocco makes coffee machines.
That’s the company’s WHAT, but it’s not the whole story. La Marzocco isn’t about pressing a button
on a dispenser and watching a plastic cup drop down, then waiting for a computer program to fill it. I
think we’re getting closer when we talk about baristas explaining the choice of beans and different
roasts. And I feel a surge of energy when we talk about machine owners—individuals or businesses—
who invest as much passion and care in using the machine as the workers did in fabricating it. There is
something more, let’s keep going.”
An employee raised his hand to share a story he felt really embodied what La Marzocco stands for. He
talked about the coffee-related events the company sponsors around topics such as leadership,
community and sustainability. He told a specific story about an event at a Milan hotel where the
company hosted a photography exhibit that featured a coffee-growing community in Tanzania. He said
La Marzocco didn’t just invite its customers and partners, it also welcomed competitors. A DJ was
flown in from a Seattle radio station because his mission is to foster global community via music. And,
of course, there was coffee. He said the event was powerful because there were so many opportunities
for people to talk and connect.
On the heels of that story, another teammate said, “La Marzocco is about sitting down and engaging
with others over a cup of coffee. It’s about bringing people together to savor life.”
Following that statement was a series of audible validations. A few people threw their hands in the air,
someone else clapped.
By the end of the workshop, everything just described about La Marzocco made sense when they read
the company’s Why Statement: to cultivate relationships so that the lives of others are enriched. Yes,
La Marzocco makes coffee machines. That’s WHAT they do. But why they do it is more human. They
are obsessed with bringing people together; that is their cause, and coffee machines happen to be the
business they have found to help them advance it.
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Now that we’ve clearly identified who your tribe is, it’s time to prepare you for
your tribe’s Why Discovery workshop. Before we get into the details, here’s a
road map to help you visualize the steps that lie ahead.

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