Using the 5 “Why’s” technique is a great way to get to your Big Audacious Meaning (your brand purpose). I’ve written about the process recently. Its simplicity makes it a powerful discovery tool.

Do a brand purpose test run

If you’re new to developing a Big Audacious Meaning, you can use the 5 “Why’s” to help hone your skills.

Try this useful exercise. Pick an organization or product that you believe is missing a Big Audacious Meaning. Look at the “About Us” section of their website to determine how they define why they exist. At the very least, you can look at their mission statement (although mission statements, by nature, don’t have the impact of a Big Audacious Meaning).

Assume they stopped the process before they reached their 5th “why” (it’s a good bet they didn’t get past the first or second “why”). Now, see where you would take them by asking 3 or 4 more “why’s”.

Every time I’ve gone through this exercise, I’ve always surprised myself with how much more powerful an organization’s purpose can become.

It’s a good test run to hone your brand purpose development skills. You can also use it as a warm up exercise if you’re running a discovery session with a stakeholder team in your organization.

Give it a try. All you have to do is ask “why”.