Some years back we were in the branch of a bank festooned with posters for different products, It was more bazaar than bank. We asked the manager why there are so many posters. He said it’s because so many divisions are having promotions. “Why are they all having them at the same time?” Because they all have to make targets? “Why are they all relevant to the customer?” They’re not – half aren’t suitable for this branch.
”Why can’t he choose the right promotions?” Because that is a head office decision. Why?” Pss – we are told. Short for “Piet says so” an autocratic CEO who had long departed, but had left a cautious and fearful rulebound culture.
We were using the five times why system developed by Sakichi Toyoda, and used by Toyota in their quest for continuous improvement. Insight is uncovering the why behind the why – and the why behind that. The ‘Pss’ bank didn’t need a communications audit – it needed to liberate itself from self-imposed chains. A shared purpose, deeply felt, would be a good start.
‘Why’ is a powerful opener… ‘why not’ takes us onwards, towards a future of possibilities that find expression from these words…
‘How might we?’
Used by Google, Apple, Ideo, P&G, ‘how might we…’ unlocks innovation. Each word is powerful – ‘how’ implies there is an answer, ‘might’ gives the imagination freedom to roam and ‘we’ weaves the threads of collaboration. We gather the power of many minds.
How might we reduce costs by 10%, is too narrow a focus, and how might we achieve world peace is too broad even for the UN. “How might we restore pride in the organisation” is a good question for the Pss bank. Then after why, why not, and how might we, other questions tumble out… like what, where, when, and who.
