Why?

A question beloved of toddlers everywhere. And with good reason – it is the ultimate learning tool.

“Why?” is beloved of analysts too. “Why?” is one of the indispensable tools of the consultant’s trade, because it is a tiny wee unambiguous question with multi-layered answers and a potentially huge impact.

So often, when we ask “why do you do that?” or “why is it done that way?” or similar, we get an answer that is only half the truth – rarely for nefarious reasons, I hasten to add. Most often, in our day-to-day lives, we have so much to think about, and we are involved in such complex operations, that we don’t have the luxury of constantly asking “why?”

So, we keep building on what we already know – the rules, the dogma, our assumptions, “the way it’s always been”.

That’s why we on our projects, we use “why?” so much when we’re talking through processes with businesses:

We ask “why?”

We get an answer.

We ask “why is that?”

We get a bit more detail.

“Why?” we ask again.

A pause.

“I don’t know, I’m not sure.” is a not uncommon response.

Great! We have an opportunity to really explore the rationale, the purpose, the benefit for why something is done a certain way.

“Seven Whys” is a great way to analyse the root causes of situations.

Don’t just ask “why” once. Ask it four, five, six, seven times of a situation, seeking to understand the deeper, simpler, more basic justification or reasoning for an approach.

“Why?” can have a short, dogmatic answer; or “why?” can fundamentally change our view of the world.

Use it well.