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

Step 3: Explore New Opportunities
(
45 minutes)
Our WHY comes from our past, but its value and promise lie in the future. An inspiring, clearly
articulated WHY acts as a springboard for new and different ways an organization can move
forward. Using our tribe’s WHY to take us into the future is the focus of the final part of this
workshop. We call this a “Conversation of Possibility.”
This is the time for participants to throw out ideas about how the organization, guided by its WHY,
can advance in new or different ways. This is more than your average brainstorming session. You
know that kind of brainstorming session we’re talking about, where we begin thinking big until one
of us starts anticipating obstacles and challenges, and within three minutes most of us are
convinced the new big idea is impossible. “Resource constraints” is one popular bogeyman; you
can no doubt think of others. Sadly, when we do this we stall our ideas before they even get
started and prevent ourselves from taking action. We limit our progress to small steps, when we
could be taking giant leaps. A Conversation of Possibility keeps us away from that excessively
safe path. It gives us permission to change our thinking and an opportunity to get out of our own
way.
Divide participants into the same groups as before. Explain that in a Conversation of Possibility,
resource constraints do not apply. Encourage participants to share any and all ideas—after all,
you never know where they will lead. We’ve seen people bring up an idea they themselves
advertised in advance as stupid and then watch as the group transformed it into something
everyone was eager to implement. The bigger the ideas the better. Nothing is off the table.
Nothing is impossible. Nothing is “stupid.” At the same time, make sure everyone understands
that a Conversation of Possibility is just that—a conversation. If you surface an idea and it’s well
received, that does not imply that you are now committed to taking it forward. If people fear that
offering a suggestion will stick them with making it a reality, they may keep their most ambitious
ideas to themselves. It’s important to state that a Conversation of Possibility is full of possibility yet
requires no commitment.
There are just two rules for this exercise:
Every idea must align with the WHY.

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Group members can add new ideas or build on someone else’s. They cannot say, “No way,”
“That won’t work” or “We can’t do that”—that’s not the conversation we’re in.
To get things started, instruct the groups to answer this question:
Knowing this is our WHY, what could be possible inside our organization? (For example, think
about what systems and processes might be modified or introduced.)
The idea here is to get the team looking inward. Remember we must practice what we preach. We
must be what we say we are. This is the opportunity to ensure the things we say and the things
we do inside the organization are a reflection of who we truly are. People on the inside should first
live the WHY for each other; after that, they can focus on how the WHY affects those on the
outside. Many organizations want to go directly to a client or product focus. Encourage them to
stay in an internal conversation first, and assure them we’ll get to the WHATs next. The question
above can get them started.
After ten minutes or so, throw out a new question:
Given the WHY of this organization, what other WHATs are possible? (For example, think about
what else we could offer by way of products or services, or the way we communicate with the
people we serve.)
So often, organizations get comfortable providing their core offerings and don’t consider what
other products, services or partnerships could help them live their WHY. (If Apple had done that,
none of us would have iPhones, iPads or iTunes.) By specifically asking participants to explore
new products or services, this question aims to inspire them to realize that a product can be wildly
different from their current offering and still be 100 percent compatible with the organization’s
WHY.
The groups should write their thoughts on their flip charts. After twenty to thirty minutes, ask them
to report to the room. As people hear what the other groups have to say, they may be inspired to
think of even more possibilities. It’s like climbing the staircase of a tall tower—as you take each
step, more comes into view.
To complete the Conversation of Possibility, ask if anyone would like to make a commitment to
carry forward the work of the WHY. Specifically, you should ask for commitments to:
Be “Why Champions” who will keep the WHY alive every day by living it and sharing it with
others.
Take any of the possibilities identified by the team and turn them into action.
If the HOWs haven’t been stated as recommended in chapter 6, it would be ideal for volunteers
to identify the organization’s HOWs by exploring other themes that emerged during the Why
Discovery.
The goal is that by the end of this workshop, team members who had no part in
the discovery process will be starting to take ownership of the WHY, which

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releases energy and inspiration. Each participant will have started to bring the
WHY alive with stories of their own. The more they talk about it, the more the
WHY starts to take hold. This is how to begin to scale the power of WHY.