When we were all young children, we all used to bug our parents with lots of  “Why?” questions.  And while this can test even the calmest of parents, the truth is children are curious about the world around them and want to understand why things happen.  It helps them learn and communicate.

Yet, somehow, as we get older, we forget the importance of why questions.

Recently, I went to a talk by Michael McQueen from NexGen Group.  He believes that one of the top five mistakes that leaders make  is that they pass on the ‘how’, but not the ‘why’?

And the reason why this is a big mistake for most companies is that often company processes are perpetuated without people ever questioning why we do something.  Over time, staff are taught processes that solve problems that no longer exist.

He then read us The Pot Roast story:

There was a young woman who moved out into her own house. While living at home, she never cooked. Upon the move, she returned home to learn how to cook a few dishes. One of her favorite recipes was Pot Roast. So she asks her mother to show her how to cook one.

The mother begins to share her expertise with the daughter. She tells her to salt and pepper the meat well. To make sure the vegetables are all cut the same size. Just before the mom places the roast in the pan, she picks up a knife and cuts about a ¼ of an inch of roast from each end. Then she places the meat in the pan.

The daughter stops her mom. “Mom, I understand why we cut the vegetables the same size – that way they’ll cook uniformly. And I know the reason we salt and pepper the meat all over – and rather heavily, is so the whole roast will absorb the flavor of the seasonings. But why did you cut a little bit off each end of the roast before you placed it in the pan?”

“Because that’s what you do”, said the mom.

“But why?”, questioned the girl.

“Does it help it cook better?”

“Well, I do it this way, because that’s the way my Mom taught me”, said the mother. “But I’m not really sure why we cut the ends off. Next time we go to visit we’ll ask her.”

Several months later the family gathers at Grandma’s house for dinner. As grandma prepares the meal the mother and daughter are in the kitchen with her. The daughter asks her grandmother, “Grandma, you’re such a good cook, and I know you passed all your methods on to Mom, but I can’t figure out why we cut the ends off of the pot roast before we cook it.” The grandmother turned to her granddaughter and said, “What are you talking about? I don’t cut the ends off before I cook it.” At this point the mother jumps into the conversation and says, “Yes you do! The time you showed me how to make pot roast, you started to put it in the pan, and then you put the roast back on the cutting board and cut about a 1/4 inch off each end of the roast. I’ve been doing it that way ever since”, she declared!

The grandmother stared at her daughter in amazement. “Every time you cook a pot roast you cut a ¼ inch off the ends? Every single time?” “Yes!” She answered her mother. “Every – single – time, just like you showed me.” “Honey, all I can say is you’ve been wasting a lot of good meat over the years. The only time I ever cut the ends off the roast is if it’s too big for the pan!”

In my role, I am given the opportunity to review new employee induction and procedural training manuals.

When I work on the training materials to write the training video script, I constantly add the “why” to procedures.  And the interesting thing, is that when I ask a company why a process needs to be done in a particular way, they either realise that we either need to get rid of the process or that we can explain the process better.

Where in your company can you ask more ”why’  questions to improve your processes?

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There comes a time when any forward-looking company needs to change strategy.  And it can be anything from a totally revamped business model to a new way of selling, manufacturing, a workplace safety procedure or even staff training.

While developing the right strategy is important, it’s being able to execute that strategy and get all staff members on board that is paramount.

All workers need to align with the new strategy and embrace it, in order for the company to move forward.

Of course, change requires people to move out of their comfort zones and work differently.  So when companies poorly execute a new initiative among staff, resentment and distrust can emerge.  And the results can be disastrous.

According to W.Chan Kim and Renee Maborgne the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, when Merrill Lynch announced plans to launch an online brokerage service, reports of resistance and infighting among staff led to the stock price falling by 14%.  But when Stanley Dean Witter & Co explained openly to their staff about their new online plans, the company’s shares rose by 13% upon their announcement.

In Blue Ocean Strategy, they believe that any new company initiative needs to be introduced to all levels of staff (not just senior management) by a three step process.

1. Engagement – Allow all workers to have input into the strategic decisions that affect them by asking for their feedback.  This shows respect for staff and their ideas.  It also can contribute to better strategic decisions.
2. Explanation – Everyone who is involved is given a clear explanation of the thinking underlying the new decision.  This is to build trust in regard to management decisions.
3. Expectation clarity – Once the strategy is finalised, managers clearly state the new rules of the game.  Goals and targets are set. Expectations for staff are clearly communicated.

So how do you get staff buy-in to a new company initiative or strategy?

Recently, we produced a training video to communicate to architects the need to introduce Compulsory Professional Development (CPD).  Due to the controversial topic, the Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV) was undertaking a series of consultative talks throughout Victoria to explain to architects the need for CPD.

Luckily for ARBV, their forward thinking registrar decided to get a video made to introduce CPD at the start of each meeting.

It was a smart move.

The educational video explained:

-the reasons CPD was required (explanation)

-the benefits to the community (explanation)

-the benefits to architects (expectation clarity)

-the negatives (explanation)

-the opportunity for input (engagement)

-CPD requirements for members (expectation clarity)

“The CPD video has been able to simplify quite complex information and present it in a clear and logical way.  It’s a short video, but very comprehensive.  Architects are visual learners and, like most of us, tend not to be good at reading large chunks of text.  We introduced the concept of CPD in an innovative video format that no other jurisdiction in Australia had done before.  It resulted in our members more easily accepting the proposed CPD concept and ensured that the meetings were pleasant and ran smoothly.

Alison Ivey, Registrar, Architects Registration Board of Victoria

By covering the three step process, members accepted the new proposal and there were no angry outbursts.  You can read more about this or see the video by clicking here.

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