Why Are You Doing That!?

When I was a kid, my dad used to say, "The question 'Why?' was born in hell." Why? Well, it was some sort of reference to Lucifer's pride and lack of obedience to God. Here's another question: "What was my dad's objective for saying this?" As an adult, I can posit a few theories as to his motives. Perhaps, he wanted me to ponder the theological implications of the statement and apply any subsequent epiphanies in my life. He may have been trying to instill in me value for obedience to authority. Or, he may have simply been frustrated with my incessant questioning of why to everything he said and wanted to shut me up. The truth is likely a combination of these things. All these years later I am endeavoring to convince you of the value of asking "Why?" to everything. I want it to become a second nature, habitual, and instinctual to you, at least in the context of business. In business, the question "Why?" was born of a desire to improve. Let's define improvement as becoming more efficient, more effective, or any combination thereof, insofar as efficiency does not impede effectiveness (the two can be competing values). Improve your business by asking "Why?" repeatedly.

• Why are you doing that?

• Why do we do this?

• Why are we meeting?

• Why does this process follow that particular flow?

• Why does this policy exist?

• Why is she the best fit for this role?

• Why is that department responsible for this task?

Out of respect for my dad, perhaps I should reframe the questions to "What?" The real root of all of these questions is "What is the objective?" And, this is the most important question of all in guiding all your business strategy and activity. 

As one of his famous seven habits of highly effective people, Dr. Stephen Covey demonstrated the value of beginning with the end in mind. This is analogous to clearly defining a destination before planning the most efficient route. It is critical that you clarify the objective of any process, policy, meeting, communication, or decision to all stakeholders from the outset. Without a clearly defined objective (a destination), you will invariably end up making little progress, spinning your wheels, going in circles - pick your preferred euphemism; it all amounts to wasting your time.

It is not uncommon for me to confuse, shock, or annoy members of my team by interrupting some long-winded harangue by asking them, "Why are you telling me all this? What is your objective?" I usually have to repeat myself several times as they are caught off-guard and unprepared to give a thoughtful answer. Often, instead of explaining their objective, they revert to reexplaining the original point from a different angle. They seem to interpret my question as "I don't understand what you are saying.", as opposed to "I don't understand why you are telling me this." In an effort to coach them, I patiently persist without emotion and reask, "What is your objective for telling me this? What is it you hope will come out of this conversation?" My objective for this practice is to teach them to consider their objectives for everything. It is critical to success. If they are really stuck, I'll give them possible objectives they may have, even if only subconsciously, for sharing the information. Sometimes they are seeking advice on a problem they are having difficulty solving. Other times, they are seeking affirmation or approval. Or, they may be keeping me in the loop. And, they may be merely venting frustration. The key is that we both clearly understand their motives and the objective at hand. If they merely want to vent and I begin suggesting possible solutions to their problem, it can further aggravate the situation. Conversely, if they are hoping for assistance and I assume they are just keeping me in the loop, I am unlikely to offer much valuable advice. 

Furthermore, it is important to consider there are times when we mutually ascertain that their objectives lack merit altogether and the whole topic should be quashed. Many managers pride themselves so much on their problem-solving capabilities that they intuitively come up with suggestions for those who seek advice even when the objective of the original challenge being communicated fails to align with the overall objectives of the business. For example, a member of my team presented me with a problem in which she was struggling to get a software application to precisely record scheduling information and integrate the data with a performance evaluation tool she was using. I instinctively began to consider and suggest possible technical solutions to the problem before stopping to ask what her underlying objective was. It took several iterations of the question to get to the real root of her objective. Only then was I able to ascertain that she thought the particular performance metric in question was important to me. When we discussed how the metric may, in fact, be counterproductive to a more foundational business objective, we decided she need not pursue the specific software challenge whatsoever. In this example, there were multiple members of my team working to solve a problem that wasn't really a problem. How wasteful! This is not insignificant and it is far more common than you probably realize.

Another common characteristic of business operations is to continue to follow particular processes with particular people in perpetuity without questioning why. It may very well be that certain processes are so well-designed and fleshed out that they should not be tampered with. Certain people may be indefinitely qualified and outstanding performers. However, we exist in rapidly changing times in which technology advancements, consumer preferences, and markets behavior is difficult to predict. We need to keep our finger on the pulse through meaningful measurements, analysis, and reevaluation of our processes, people, and resulting value proposition. Consistently take the time to perform evaluations of your processes and people with a critical eye. You guessed it; such evaluations need to begin with clarifying objectives.

So much waste, which is the antithesis to efficiency and intrinsically diminishes value, is inherent within business due solely to a lack of clarity regarding worthy objectives. For this reason, you need to create a culture in which your team habitually defines objectives at the beginning of all meetings, documents, processes, and decisions. Begin creating this culture by stopping to ask "Why?" whenever anything is initiated in the absence of clarity regarding its objective. If someone launches a meeting without stating the objective, stop and ask "Why are we meeting? What is the objective of this meeting?" Then, throughout and once again at the end of the meeting, determine whether the objective is being met. People will catch on. Design templates for use with meetings and documents that have a spot for entering the objectives, as well as a box to check confirming the accomplishment of objectives at the conclusion.

Instilling an objective-focused culture throughout your company will pay immeasurable dividends. Though the habits will take awhile to form, the results will become apparent almost immediately each time to pause to ask, "Why are we doing this?" If you choose to proceed in business without forming this new habit, it begs the question "Why are you doing that!?" Just give it a try. Why the hell not?

Are you afraid to ask questions? Or are you the type who asks a lot of questions? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments sections below!