Mark Zuckerberg’s motto “move fast and break things” have become tech companies’ mantra nowadays. It’s the trendy thing to do for companies young and old that want to make a splash in today’s world. In a similar vein, Astro Teller, the CEO of Google X, advocates for efforts that not necessarily turn out the most successes, but rather maximize the learnings per dollars. Basically, the faster you learn, the more likely you are to be successful.

While the wisdoms make sense to me, they tend to focus on the magnitude—not direction—of the actions. There are many different ways to break things, how do you even know which way to break toward? How do you find the conviction to move in a direction when there are so many available? You can give all the intensity in the world to solve a problem, but if you act aimlessly, then you’re just running in circles.

Of course, there is no one correct solution, but there seems to be a general strategy that works well: To act with conviction, you need to know precisely what you’re working toward.

Some company founders, like Jeff Bezos, are obsessed with solving customer problems in e-commerce. For others, like Elon Musk, their vision may be as moonshot-y as the colonization of Mars. Tesla and SpaceX are part of the overall effort to reaching that ultimate goal.

Whatever the goal, knowing the “why” is a crucial first step to making meaningful gains toward success. Don’t be a rudderless boat that drifts along the current. Act fast and adapt, but move decisively and with purpose.