Why is ‘why’ more important (than what or how) for a small business?

Once upon a time, two men quarrel in a library. One wanted the window closed and the other wanted it to be opened.

Enters the librarian and asks one why he wants the window open “To get some fresh air”.  She asks the other why he wants it closed. “To avoid draft”.

After thinking for a minute she opens a wide window in the next room bringing in fresh air without a draft.

She would have not invented the solution she did if she had focussed only on the two men’s stated positions of wanting the window open or closed.

Instead, she looked at the underlying interest of fresh air and no draft.

Life is all about understanding the WHY. The other questions What, How, When become only supporting to take a decision.

Remember knowledge is having the right answer but intelligence is in asking the right question. Answers always exist only to questions. The 4 powerful ‘Whys’ for success: –

Why?
Why not?
Why not me?
Why not now?

It’s really easy to survive any of the How’s when the Why’s are clear.

Ever wonder why some small businesses seem to be able to get more done?

The secret to their success can be summed up in one small word:  WHY

At HelloLeads, we are involved in a series of tasks that include listening to customers, design, prioritization, development, testing, sales and marketing. I regularly tell my team to keep asking Why which will bring more effectiveness to what we do:

When a customer says I need this feature, ask them Why.
When a boss or an internal customer gives a job or sends a request ask Why.
When someone say this design is better ask them Why When you embark on what to do or how to do, ask yourself why I should do it.

Why is a powerful question that can open up better ways of doing things and more importantly to pick up right things to do.