Live with the Problem Method 1: Act Like a Toddler
Toddlers can be notorious for driving adults to distraction by repeatedly asking the question, “Why?”
“You need to eat your veggies.”
“Why?”
“Because they're good for you.”
“Why?”
“Because they have lots of vitamins and fiber that make your body strong.”
“Why?”
“Oh, just eat your veggies already!”
Although this practice may be a bit annoying in daily life, when it comes to breakthrough this dogged commitment to digging into a line of questioning can be particularly helpful.
In the live with the problem chapter, we tell the story of a team that was struggling with high rates of turnover in their organization. When they asked themselves why it was happening, they realized people were feeling dissatisfied. When they asked themselves why that was happening, they concluded it was due to feelings about compensation, and also opportunities for growth. In the chapter we highlight how asking (again) why people were dissatisfied with those issues could shed even more light on how to best solve for them. You can go through the same process of asking why, and then asking it again several times, whenever you're trying to understand the root cause of a problem.
How to act like a toddler:
- Step 1: Write down the problem or challenge. ...
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