‘What is more powerful than Why’ is a statement not a question.
I saw this tweet by Jamie Dunn @ JDEntrepreneur this morning
‘The “Why” should always be bigger than the “How“… Focus on the reasons why you’re doing something, instead of how you’re going to do it.’
Which is perfectly correct in that when you focus on ‘How’ you are going do something you lose the spark of energy, the passion for the initial reasons are you doing it. These reasons are the real insight into ‘What’ you want to achieve.
If you look at the recent disturbances, they were termed Riots but once they got past the initial activity were just opportunist looting in the main, and ask two questions with the same intent yet different structure, you will elicit different responses.
Qu: Why are you kicking that window in?
Answer: Cos I want that pair of trainers
Qu: What will you (do you hope to) achieve by kicking that window in?
Answer (if they actually had an agenda):
I hope to make a political statement about the unjustified shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham
or
I hope to make a political statement about the lack of opportunities for young people in the job market
or maybe even
I want to get that pair of trainers so i can sell them to get £20 so that I can put some dinner on the table for my family tomorrow night.
Unfortunately the more likely answer from the looters is:
I want to look cool in a nice new pair of trainers.
When you ask ‘What’ you as the questioner are prompted to add the ‘do you want to achieve’ or ‘are you hoping to get out of’ etc therefore making your initial question more explicit and focus around what you want to achieve.
Why did I write this blog?
Because I enjoy playing with the language we use day to day.
What do I hope to achieve by writing this blog?
I want other people to question the language they use and challenge themselves to get better outcomes.
So I will leave you with 2 questions that you can ponder.
Why does that person annoy/frustrate/upset you?
What do you get out of letting that person annoy/frustrate/upset you?
I am not expecting you to be able to fully answer the second question (or understand the answer you come up with), that is where coaching comes in all I want you to see is that you get two totally different answers.
If you would like to find out more about how restructuring the language you use day to day can help you change your perspective and therefore the results you achieve, please call me on 0118 324 1010.