When we go for marketing calls to sell the service of DNA
development for the businesses, I make a single statement to make our point
i.e. ‘we help the companies to grow from one level to next level’. As a response to this, often we get back a
question ‘How do you do that? ‘. Also we
get other questions that are closely related to the disorderly question “how do
you do that? “. Some of them are ‘How do you get from here to there?’, ‘Where
has this worked?’, ‘What would this program cost and what is the return on
investment?’. ’ How do we measure it?’ etc. We prefer to call this question
disorderly, because it beats all the creative and productive purposes. The
question creates a subtle aura of cynicism or contempt. It indicates something
such as “ We have been doing it all these years, how can you be better than us”
, “We know it all , let us see if you
can tell us more than we know, which is impossible”, etc.. It is also a defense against taking
action, as it implies that let us know clearly that it will yield what we want
then we shall act.
Thus the How? question is a defense for the stubbornness to
act for change or even to think differently. It is an indirect expression of
doubt, more on to them than on us. The
How? question also seem to be a habit.
Business owners who have strong habits of pursuing what is practical and
doable, tend to ignore larger purpose and impacts. We are astonished to watch
frequently that when some business owner’s initiatives do not work, they simply
try harder. When they are trying to control a business and it is failing, then
they doggedly do more of what is not working.
The How? question also promotes an illusion of speed such as
the world is moving fast now a days and
there is no time for thinking and emotions; At any cost we must do all things
fast. Of course, we need to do things fast what needs to be done. What need to
be done: ‘the business’ is often forgotten.
Instead the organization mindlessly pursues to meet the mechanical
objectives. This mindset, of going only behind what works, is the biggest
hurdle to sustainable business growth. We attempt to break this mindset very
early in our interactions and that puts us in the risk of being expelled from
the premises. But that is the hazard of business facilitation job. We need to
put up with it.
Each time business owners / managers try to get answers to
the question How?, they get answers such as .. do Lean management, do six
sigma, do 5S, do 360 degree feedback, do balance score card, do leadership
training etc etc. All seem to have not yielded what was expected if not failed.
Still organizations resort to such programs every now and then with a hope to
solve their fundamental issues. Often
How? question fails because it is not
the right question and secondly the answer comes out of someone else’s
experience. It is difficult for any business to live on the experiences of
others regardless of the meticulousness with which the answer is accepted.
It is not that we propose a blanket ban on the How?, it is
only that we persuade the business owners/ managers to save this question for
a latter period and that there are more
important questions to be asked before the How?. Getting the questions right at
first is the best step. We facilitate to make them ask right questions.
Contributed by Sasikanth Prabhu
