In a previous column, I made the argument that finding the right question is the key to selecting the right answer. For managers, the most important question they can ask is why. The word why, may be the single most important word in a manager's vocabulary.
I observed yet another example of this while watching the Ken Burns Vietnam series on PBS. Sam Wilson, the US Mission Coordinator Ambassador to Vietnam, was reporting his findings from a recent trip to Vietnam to the Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. McNamara asked him how the US efforts were going in Vietnam. Wilson replied that, those efforts were not working and were even counterproductive. McNamara replied, "Why don't people tell me these things?" To which Wilson said, "Mr. Secretary, you don't ask".
There are multiple management lessons one could take away from that one exchange. The one I want to make is that managers need to ask why more often. In the Vietnam example, it should have been: "why aren't things working?" The broader question of why are we in Vietnam frustrated all four presidents during that conflict.
Why are we in business is the most important question for any company. The what, when, how, who, and where questions are also important, but they are all merely supportive of the why question. It is a bit of an exaggeration, but anyone can come up with an answer to the what question. Answering the why question requires that one engage in higher order critical thinking.
Beyond the why are we in business, there are scores of other why questions. Why are we not achieving our goals? Why are we losing market share? Why are customers not buying our products?
If you are a parent, you know small children have the why question down pat. In fact, they love to ask it repeatedly. However, this can serve a legitimate purpose, thus "peeling" back each layer of response. An answer to why we are not achieving our goals might be that marketing is not doing their job. Why? The reps are not getting the message out. Why? Their workload is too much. Why? Ultimately, this line of questioning can lead to the root of the problem.
There is a host of other reasons explaining the need for why. One of biggest benefit lies in the fact that one becomes a listener and not a talker. This is not always easy for managers. They are the ones that are supposed to have the answers. When one asks, one should be accepting. There is a Zen principle called "shoshin" or beginner's mind. This is akin to having an empty mind, like that of a child. A beginner's mind looks at things without biases.
Why provides a learning opportunity for both the person asking the question and the one to whom it is directed. Asking why has long been an appropriate teaching mechanism. There are times that teaching is better than preaching.
In management circles today, there is a lot of discussion about the benefits of disruption. I cannot think of a more disruptive question than why. Asking why questions the status quo, challenges our assumptions, leads to change, tests current rationales, and promotes innovations.
I mentioned earlier that the most important question organizations must answer is why are we here. Borrowing a line from a Kris Kristofferson song, and at the risk of being overly profound, maybe the most important question each of us must answer is: why me? Why am I here?