Ask Why

Do you spend so much time finding out what is happening that you neglect to find out why?

Ask Why To Stay On Top Of The Big Stuff

As a business owner, it’s your job to stay on top of the big stuff. After all, business owners are often big-picture visionaries. And for practical purposes, you simply don’t have the time to take a deep dive into every nitty-gritty element of your business. That’s why you surround yourself with people who can own those nitty gritty elements and filter relevant information up to you as needed. (At least, we hope you surround yourself with people who can be trusted to do this.)

When this information filters up, it’s usually in the form of what:

• What happened.
• What went wrong.
• What went right.
• What needs to happen next.

What is crucial, of course. But it’s useless if you don’t also explore the why.

• Why did this happen?
• Why did you lose out on that customer?
• Why was AP different than normal this month?
• Why are your gizmos suddenly selling better in the southwest region?

What is information. Why paves the way to a solution.

Why lets you replicate and build on successes.

Why lets you circumvent future missteps.

Challenge the people in your company to come to you prepared to discuss why in addition to what. If your company doesn’t have people who can handle this shift, it’s time to ask why that is. We can help.