Why?
The other day I couldn't help but overhearing a conversation between a mother and her child.
Mother: "It's time to go home"
Child: "Why"
Mother: "Because it's getting late"
Child: "Why"
Mother: "It's time to eat"
Child: "I'm not hungry"
Mother: "You have to eat"
Child: "Why"
Mother: "To stay healthy and to grow up"
Child: "I don't want to grow up"
Mother: "All children grow up"
Child: "Why"
Mother (slightly exhausted): "Because that is the way it is"
Child: "Why"
Mother (still exhausted): "That's enough, let's go"
Child: "I don't want to go" Sound familiar? The conversation continued and I must admit to feeling sorry for the mother. But that is the way kids are. They are curious, want to know and understand.They don't feel stupid asking and are not trying to pick their mother's answers to pieces either. According to Wikipedia, asking "why" is the request for an evidential reason. It is a great way to check the validity of an argument. When is the last time you asked "why"? I have the impression that many grown-ups do everything to avoid asking that question, especially when at work. Are we afraid to look stupid? Don't we consider it to be acceptable? Do we believe that asking the boss "why" implicitly means that we don't believe what he or she is saying? Does it imply lack of trust? Speculation thrives in such an environment: "the boss could have meant", "what the boss really wants", "what the boss was trying to get across" and the list goes on. Where speculation thrives, mistakes happen. After all, if we don't know what the boss wants, we're not going to do what's expected of us. Kids learn by asking "why", but so do we. Asking "why" not only leads to better decisions, it also questions the status quo, thereby enabling innovation and change. As Warren Bennis says "The manager asks how and when, the leader asks what and WHY". Why don't we want to lead?
Child: "Why"
Mother: "Because it's getting late"
Child: "Why"
Mother: "It's time to eat"
Child: "I'm not hungry"
Mother: "You have to eat"
Child: "Why"
Mother: "To stay healthy and to grow up"
Child: "I don't want to grow up"
Mother: "All children grow up"
Child: "Why"
Mother (slightly exhausted): "Because that is the way it is"
Child: "Why"
Mother (still exhausted): "That's enough, let's go"
Child: "I don't want to go" Sound familiar? The conversation continued and I must admit to feeling sorry for the mother. But that is the way kids are. They are curious, want to know and understand.They don't feel stupid asking and are not trying to pick their mother's answers to pieces either. According to Wikipedia, asking "why" is the request for an evidential reason. It is a great way to check the validity of an argument. When is the last time you asked "why"? I have the impression that many grown-ups do everything to avoid asking that question, especially when at work. Are we afraid to look stupid? Don't we consider it to be acceptable? Do we believe that asking the boss "why" implicitly means that we don't believe what he or she is saying? Does it imply lack of trust? Speculation thrives in such an environment: "the boss could have meant", "what the boss really wants", "what the boss was trying to get across" and the list goes on. Where speculation thrives, mistakes happen. After all, if we don't know what the boss wants, we're not going to do what's expected of us. Kids learn by asking "why", but so do we. Asking "why" not only leads to better decisions, it also questions the status quo, thereby enabling innovation and change. As Warren Bennis says "The manager asks how and when, the leader asks what and WHY". Why don't we want to lead?
19. März 2010 um 09:53 Uhr
Related to this post, you will probably enjoy this: “Why”.
Separately, do you think there would be interest in Germany for either of my two financial websites (both related to securities which trade in the U.S.), Portfolio Armor and Short Screen? If so, perhaps we can do some business together.
Best,
DP