A Short note on purpose

I believe all of us are watching the tragedy in Ukraine with great concern. Many of us are surprised to see the brilliant and committed resistance of the Ukrainians and are shocked by the losses of the vaunted Russian Army. How is this possible?

I keep coming back to this: The Russians are confused. We are told many were misled about where they were going and who they were fighting. The Ukrainians, on the other hand, have a rock-solid sense of purpose. They know their “why.”

There are 117 million Russians; there are 34 million Ukrainians. Ukraine has 170,000 soldiers; Russia has 1 million.  The Russians have everything; the Ukrainians very little.

Putin knew the “what.”  Zelenskyy knew the “why.” Who is winning?

Though Putin, through superior numbers, may ultimately win the battle, he will never win the hearts and minds of the Ukrainians.

The power of purpose.

What is your why? What is your unit’s why? What is your organization’s why?