Agility, the capability of rapidly and efficiently adapting to changes, is at the intersection of the Market – what customers need that we provide, the Work – providing it to them, and the Worker – that’s us. In today’s marketplace, we’re bound for obsolescence if we’re not agile and moving constantly to that intersection of Market, Work and Workers.

This month, we are focusing on lessons from my favorite children’s books. Today’s book is Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton.

This month, we are focusing on lessons from my favorite children’s books. My absolute favorite children’s book is The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper.

Our first book is a Christmas gift I received from my coach, Kim Avery. Inside the package was this book, What Can You Do with an Idea?, by Kobi Yamada.

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”

Once the WHY of an organization has been identified, it has to be translated to the marketplace. A WHY without a tangible expression is just a dream.

Why is the purpose, a cause or a belief that underlies your organization’s existence. It provides a clear answer to each of these three questions:

Why do you get out of bed in the morning?
Why does your organization exist?
Why should anyone care?

Over the past month in my posts about risk, I’ve repeatedly referred to knowing your “WHY”. Over the next four weeks, we’re going to go deeper into the concept Simon Sinek shared in his TED talk Ho Great Leaders Inspire Action and book, Start with Why.

Due diligence is the process of exploring your options. By exploring the facts of your potential decision in a strategic way, you make decisions based in reality and facts, not just hopes and dreams.