The WHY in the BFAW Concept

Sam Queeno, Chief BFAW

3/19/23

Why did you get out of Bed this morning? Why did you choose to show up today at work? What is your Why? Why is the first concept in BFAW. Yes, we know it is at the end but it’s the first thing you must figure out before you can do anything in this world.  Now there has been many books, training and talks on finding your Why. My hero Simon Sinek has done much work on this topic, including books, videos, and training. So, by no means is the W in the BFAW concept anything new or earth shattering. What it is though a reminder that to get anything done on this earth you need to figure out why you are here.

If the WHY concept is foreign to you, you may have heard it described as your Noble Goal, or North Star. There are probably many names for it but in simplest terms I always like to say it is the reason you get out of bed every day. Now the WHY is not just for an individual but I think it needs to start there. There could be the WHY for a particular team, or organization, or a company. Many translate this to their Mission.

What some struggle with is where to begin. It can be difficult to figure out your WHY and may take many years. We believe Your WHY can change overtime if you change as a person. However, it is infinite, it never ends. You will not complete it in your lifetime, you will continue striving each day to live out your Why until you die. An example is my Why, which took quite awhile to define and redefine. “Striving to make the world a safer place to live, work and play”. Now many think this only has to do with Security since my current profession is Security but that is just one component. Your Why is not necessarily the profession you work in (however it helps if they are aligned). Your Why is more than a job. 

So, the BFAW concept shows you where one can start. We call it the 3 P’s.

Past – Look at your past, what in the past have you done. Talk with your Best Friends and ask them why the are friends with you. Getting an understanding of you as a person is the first step.

Patterns – As you begin to think of your past and talk with your friends you will organically start seeing patterns in your life. What is the same about you overtime.

Pencil – Now it is time to grab your pencil and start writing out your why. Write down all that you have explored and what your friends said about you and draft your why. 

The Why concept is most important not only for an individual but with anything you want to Achieve both at work and at home. This applies to teams and organizations alike. If people understand the Why they are mor inclined to achieve the desired results. That is why Action is next in the BFAW framework.