THE 9 WHY'S
1. TO CONTRIBUTE TO A GREATER CAUSE
OR TO HELP OTHERS
People with this WHY feel compelled to be a part of
a greater cause. They don't want to be the cause,
simply to participate and offer their contribution.
They love to support and relish the success of the
greater good, the company, the team, or whatever
the cause may be. You will often find them behind
the scenes looking for ways to make the world a
better place. You may also find them in more of a
public forum trumpeting a movement or message.
People with this WHY are go-to people, the ones
you look for when you need help with just about
anything. They make reliable and committed
teammates and are often found in all areas of
athletics. People with this WHY may be planners,
coaches, caterers, help and support desk
personnel, ministers, political campaign workers,
restaurant staff, and cause leaders.
2
TO CREATE RELATIONSHIPS BASED ON
TRUST
People with this WHY believe that trust is the most
important thing and will work hard to create it. They
will become educated as experts in a particular
subject and demonstrate that expertise as a way of
establishing trust. They will do things "right" in order
to demonstrate that they are trustworthy. They want
to know that you believe in them and will go the
extra mile to demonstrate that with their actions,
words and deeds. ln communication with someone
with this WHY, you might hear words along the
lines of, "You can count on me." People with this
WHY include accountants, support staff, service
oriented professions such as chiropractic, physical
therapy, caregivers and nurses.
3
TO MAKE SENSE OF THE SITUATION
People with this WHY observe, take in elements of
every situation they are in and make sense out of
them. They take complicated, or what may appear to
be complicated, factors, problems and concepts and
organize them to create solutions that are sensible
and easy to implement. They are highly "solution"
oriented and excellent problem solvers. ln
conversation with people that have this WHY, you
might hear them say, "OK, I got it. Given all that, let's
do it this way...". People with this particular WHY can
be very successful management consultants,
visionaries, leaders, authors, executives and analysts.
They typically can be viewed as experts because they
can find solutions quickly. They may also be authors
as they can use their skill to summarize complicated
issues in writing
4
TO FIND A BETTER WAY
People with this WHY constantly seek better ways
to do things. They can't stop themselves from
"trying to do it befter''. They take virtually anything
and want to improve upon it, make it better and
share their improvement with the world. They invent
things. As you discuss something with them, they
are asking themselves; "what if we did it this way?"
or "maybe this would work better..." People with this
particular WHY contribute with constant
innovations, better processes and systems and
operate under the mofto, "often pleased, never
satisfied". They are also very good at associating --
taking from one industry and applying to another.
Often people with this WHY are competitive,
athletic, inventors, architects, dentists, business
people, process engineers and tinkerers.
5
TO DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY
People with this WHY believe there is a right way to
do things and that things should be done right. They
do not cut corners nor skimp on the details. They
follow procedures, are results driven and believe
that if the proper system is followed correctly, you
will achieve the "right" results, those desired by the
company. They believe in creating structures and
processes for clarity and simplicity and the correct
running of operations. ln speaking with people with
this WHY, you might hear them say "Let's do this
right." People with this WHY include architects,
military personnel, fi refighters, comptrollers, CEOs,
accountants, lawyers, managers, operations
experts and engineers.
6
TO CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO
People with this WHY always think outside the box
and rebel against the typical or classical way of doing
things. They aggressively seek unique solutions that
no one else has considered to existing problems and
challenges. They are extremely entrepreneurial and
love innovation, particularly if it is a "game changer".
They look to "create" a market versus "serve" the
market and constantly challenge the existing status
quo in any area. They often have a broad variety of
diverse interests. ln a discussion with a person with
this WHY, they may challenge you with comments
such as, "Why not?" and "What if we looked at this
from a completely different point of view?" People with
this WHY include innovators, fashion designers,
inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, CEOs, out-ofthebox
thinkers, rebels with (or without) a cause and musicians.
7
TO MASTER THINGS
People with this WHY seek deep amounts of
information over a broad variety of topics. They will
pick a specific subject qnd begin to learn about it,
often for the sheer joy of curiosity of knowing
something new. They gather and retain substantial
knowledge in different areas. Typically viewed as
"experts" in numerous disciplines by many, they will
insist that they have yet to truly master them. They
are fearless about new subjects or ideas. ln a
discussion with a person with this WHY, you might
hear them say "Wait. We need to think about this
first." People with this WHY include experts,
artisans, master teachers, artists, academicians,
polymaths, master craftsmen, theorists,
programmers, statesmen and surgeons.
8.
TO CLARIFY
People with this WHY are always looking to be fully
understood in all communications. They want to
know that you "get" what they are saying, and may
find multiple ways of expressing a point. They will
use analogies and metaphors to help offer multiple
points of view on a particular topic that they are
sharing. They feel successful when they know that
their message is landing completely. People with
this particular WHY make fantastic coaches,
teachers, speakers and public figures
9
TO SlMPLIFY
People with this WHY take what needs to be done
and break it down into its simplest form. They remove
unnecessary elements and streamline as a matter of
course. You might hear them say "Well, the simple
way to do that would be...". They eliminate complexity
in everything they do for the benefit of everyone else.
People with this particular WHY make great
engineers, strategists, writers, artists and teachers.
