Sometimes the secret to success is
in plain view. It appears so commonsensical that it hardly seems worth our
attention, until someone brings it to our notice and suddenly it
seems...brilliant.
That thought crossed my mind
recently as I watched again Simon Sinek's enormously popular TED talk "How Great Leaders Inspire Action." In fact, Sinek calls
his idea (as illustrated in the Golden Circle diagram) "probably the world's
simplest idea." His main thesis? People are more drawn to why you do
something than to what you do.
The innate power of the why behind
what we do seems to be intuitively evident even to the average toddler, who
repeatedly wants to know "Why?" But as we grow up and take on the
complex task of running a business or a department or a project, we often
become disconnected from the why. Instead we become consumed with what needs to
be done and how to do it, and easily lose sight of the underlying purpose.
Case in point: When I work on
proposals for engineering or environmental consulting firms, I always ask two
questions: "Why is the client doing this project now? What business
results does it need to achieve?" I rarely get satisfactory answers to
these basic questions. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Scan the project approach
sections in your firm's proposals. Look at your project descriptions. Do they
answer the why question? Probably not.
So why does it matter? I've been
asked that on occasion when I pressed for an answer to my two questions.
"We can do the work!" I've been told. But to what end? Let me
suggest, as Sinek implies, that the real value of our work is found in why we
do it rather than in what we do. The why is what matters most to our clients.
The why behind your project
typically consists of three components:
- The problem—The strategic, technical, and personal dimensions of the matter that is causing concern and that the client has determined needs remedy. Sometimes this is more opportunity than problem, but the fundamental motivation remains—there is a deficit between what is and what is desired.
- The consequences—The negative effects of the problem or the lack of a solution. Usually it is the consequences that drive the need for the project more than the problem itself. Thus you are wise to define how your solution not only addresses the problem, but its consequences.
- The desired outcomes—This is at the heart of why; the project is needed to achieve certain results. Ideally, your solution addresses not only the desired technical outcomes, but the strategic and personal outcomes as well.
With a fuller understanding of why
the project is happening, you are better prepared to define the right scope and
approach to achieve the desired outcomes.
Okay, so what? Perhaps you're
thinking your firm already does a good job delivering the projects your clients
need. What's the added benefit of delving deeper into the purpose of the
project when the client's not asking you to? Here are a few reasons why I think
it's important:
A deeper understanding of the
why leads to better solutions. Technical
professionals tend to be more task-oriented than goal-oriented. Clients are
seeking results. Analyzing the why helps you better design the project to
fulfill the client's long-term vision—the outcomes that are critical to the
project's ultimate success. It helps push your team beyond the tendency to
define the project primarily by its scope, schedule, and budget.
Knowing the why is critical to
delivering business value. The true
value of a project is realized not when it is designed or constructed, or the
investigation or study is completed, but when it begins delivering a return on
investment. If you want to enhance the value of your services in the eyes of
clients, do a better job connecting what you do with the results they need.
That involves not only understanding the why, but being able to talk about your
work in terms of the business value it produces.
When the client defines the
scope without explaining the why, you've effectively become a commodity. In the 40+ years I've worked in this business, I've watched
our role as advisors and problem solvers gradually diminish. Increasingly
clients are defining their own solutions and having us implement them, often at
the lowest price. How did this happen? Well, clients are arguably more
sophisticated and knowledgeable about what we do. But we've facilitated this trend
by neglecting the business drivers behind our projects and focusing more on
expertise than strategy.
Recognizing the why behind your
work inspires better performance. Research
confirms that employee engagement and performance improves when they
have a clear sense of purpose. They want to know not only what to do, but why
they are doing it. This is particularly true of younger workers. When you fail
to adequately uncover the why behind your projects and communicate it to your
staff, you miss a golden opportunity to draw out their best efforts.
Sinek says that most companies start
with defining what they do, then how they do it. Many never really get to the
why. The best companies, by contrast, start with the why, which better informs
the how and what. They are why-driven companies.
I believe there's great potential
among technical consulting and design firms to differentiate themselves by
moving from being what-driven (the norm) to becoming why-driven. From being
task-oriented to becoming more results-oriented. Sound too simple an idea?
Well, take a closer look at your firm. Ask your colleagues how you're really doing in this regard. The secret to success
just might be in plain view.
