• Many leaders recognise the need to transition from ‘command and control’ to ‘motivate and mentor’ organizations, but they lack tools to help them orchestrate a business in this way.
• Highly collaborative systems need better ways to visualize and improve the interdependencies of each system component. Organizations are often ‘vertical’ hierarchies rather than ‘horizontal’ cooperatives.
• Information is often intentionally or unintentionally locked away in silos. Knowledge workers need a way to navigate and discover all the interconnected information sources that support the organization’s mission, not just their own silo of information.

• Stop using conventional process tools that focus on inputs and outputs - instead focus on WHAT, HOW and WHY. Peter Drucker said “The first question for any knowledge worker should be WHAT do we seek to achieve? WHY do it at all?”
• Don’t use conventional text to externalise and share knowledge. Text is great for information sharing but knowledge needs to be encoded within a WHAT-HOW-WHY structure.
• Look at the business as a series of actions connected via WHAT-HOW-WHY chains. WHAT actions does the business take or need to take? HOW does it take this action and WHY? (It turns out that WHY and HOW are opposite viewpoints of the same thing). These chains can become the DNA of the organization.
• Share the organization’s WHAT-HOW-WHY chains with all staff and other stakeholders. Encourage them to investigate the WHYs of the organization. When people understand WHY they can become better team players and do a better job.
• Use these WHAT-HOW-WHY chains to orchestrate collaboration and social business tools. When dialogue is focused around the organization’s WHAT-HOW-WHY chains it becomes much more effective.
• Encourage never ending discussion and improvement of the organization’s WHAT-HOW-WHY chains. When people understand all the WHY interconnections of the organization, they are much more likely to be innovators. “Ah, if that’s what we’re really trying to do, I can think of a better way”.
• Use these WHAT-HOW-WHY chains to orchestrate the corporate web and other information sources so that everybody can navigate the DNA of the organization to find interrelated and empowering information sources.

• Leaders have a better tool to ‘conduct’ rather than ‘command’ the organization - the WHAT-HOW-WHY chains empower everybody in the organization to understand, innovate and deliver the ultimate WHY.
• Greater cross-functional collaboration results from exploitation of these intelligent interconnections. And because the WHAT-HOW-WHY chains do not need to stop at an organization’s boundary, this cooperation can be extended to customers, suppliers, the community and all other stakeholders.
• Information silos can be broken down because all stakeholders can use the WHAT-HOW-WHY chains to navigate the interconnected information sources related to the company’s goals and fundamental mission.
• Financial benefits result because everybody and everything is aligned to the WHY of the organization. Tasks with no important WHY can simply be eliminated.
• The organization has greater agility because all employees see the complete picture and are empowered to understand the ultimate WHYs of the organization. They can all contribute to improving the organization’s HOWs via this deeper insight.
• The process of considering WHY normally causes people to think more deeply about the fundamental purpose of the organization. More focus on the long-term and less short-termism can result.

Challenge: The WHAT-HOW-WHY chains inevitably cross functional boundaries and cooperation between functions is needed.

Suggestion 1: Find a ‘champion’ in the organization who has the reputation and respect to inspire such a cross-functional initiative.

Suggestion 2: Start with a small, quick-wins cross-functional project that can represent a compelling example for others to follow.

Challenge: Innovations such as this are known to follow Everett Rogers Diffusion of Innovations model – adopted by innovators first and only accepted by others after these innovators have proven the benefits.

Suggestion: Find a ‘champion’ who has a reputation for successful innovation.

Challenge: Such cross-functional initiatives, with a technology underpinning, are often delegated to the IT function. But the IT function is often locked into old fashioned input-output process thinking. And their architecture tools are often too technical and do not talk a business language.

Suggestion: Find a senior business ‘champion’ rather than IT sponsor (unless the latter is very business-oriented).

1. Create a high-level WHAT-HOW-WHY chain (your WHY Code), taking a slice across your whole organization. This can be done on paper, but is better done via the free WHY Organization website (www.whyorg.com). Interesting and insightful chains can be built in hours.
2. Consider a few quick workshops (maximum 90 minutes duration each) to debate your organization’s WHY Code amongst key players from different functions. Such workshops almost always surface and resolve different views on the organization’s WHYs. Resolving these differences brings about immediate benefit.
3. Think WHY through to the end of chain – your ultimate WHYs. WHY does the organization really exist? From these ultimate WHYs, think back in the HOW direction - HOW can these ultimate WHYs be better or more effectively achieved. Move to eliminate low-value-adding actions that do not really support the ultimate WHYs.
4. Connect your WHY Code to your chosen discussion forums and enable participants to focus discussion on your organization’s WHY Code. This will immediately make the discussions more focused and informed, cutting down noise and information overload. Innovation should significantly increase.
5. Connect your WHY Code to your corporate web to enable participants to navigate your WHY Code and find related information sources that would not otherwise be obvious or available to them.