http://knowledge-fulcrum.com/2009/03/05/cutting-off-the-roast/ Mon, 17 May 2010 00:28:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://knowledge-fulcrum.com/2009/03/05/cutting-off-the-roast/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Chas Martin Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:40:07 +0000 http://knowledge-fulcrum.com/?p=376#comment-10 Years ago, a firm I was with brought in a new president. His daily routine was to visit a few people, introduce himself, ask what they were doing....and then the killer question: "Why?" It made a lot of people uneasy. While most people understand the "What?" Few know why. Everyone quickly figured out that the wrong answer to this question was because that's the way we've always done it before. We are creatures of habit. Creativity takes an effort at first. Then, breaking patterns itself becomes a habit. When management begins talking about the need for, or the power of predictability, someone should ask "Why?" Predictability can be a great asset. But, only if you know why you seek it. Years ago, a firm I was with brought in a new president. His daily routine was to visit a few people, introduce himself, ask what they were doing….and then the killer question: “Why?”
It made a lot of people uneasy. While most people understand the “What?” Few know why. Everyone quickly figured out that the wrong answer to this question was because that’s the way we’ve always done it before.
We are creatures of habit. Creativity takes an effort at first. Then, breaking patterns itself becomes a habit. When management begins talking about the need for, or the power of predictability, someone should ask “Why?” Predictability can be a great asset. But, only if you know why you seek it.

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