Lesson – Get to the Why First
Key Takeaway
Ask the question, “What’s the goal?” When you ask what the goal is, it gets everybody to think about the reality in front of them; rather than the solution they were wedded to. Ask what the goal is. In time you can lay out a beautiful picture about “the how”.
The Challenge of Client Directives
Throughout your career you will find yourself in various meetings, discovery calls, and syncs where numerous questions and requests will come your way. Many of them will take the form of directives:
- “I want to do this.”
- “I want to go here.”
- “I want to see this happen.”
This is really the client trying to take what they know, the reference points that they have (often unrelated to Salesforce and oftentimes antiquated) and assert their knowledge to the point of trying to give directions.
Why getting from “What” and “How” to “Why” is important
The first temptation on your part may be to meet their assertion of expertise with your own. Don’t shut it down! It’s kind of like someone who wants to draw you a really high fidelity picture, but all they have is a napkin and a Sharpie. It’s not going to be too detailed. It’s going to be just enough to get the job done. Your job as the consultant is to leverage that, interpret it, and make it come to life; not to grab the sharpie out of their hand and try to draw a better picture, or insult their attempt at it!
The other common response I have seen is to simply take the direction and then do the best we can to fill in the holes as we go. Again, there isn’t enough understanding or detail provided to do the job well so moving forward right away creates risk. Risk for the client in hitting the wrong target but also risk for you in your ability to deliver a valuable end product.
Don’t Skip the “Why”
Another risk in skipping the ‘Why’ is that it can result in a misalignment of understanding. You are usually joining a project at a point of high vulnerability. Some process, department, or maybe most of the system was not working as desired. Often the individuals involved feel pressure to prove their value and expertise because of that. For example, a client might try to explain what they want using terms that mean something different to them than what they mean to you. Imagine a client says,
“I need one of those little animals to help me get my job done.”
Your mind may jump so the Salesforce cartoon characters or maybe to one of those animals on screen pop up assistants. You need to dig out the why to actually understand the goal. You might ask:
- Can you help me understand why you need an animal to assist you? (I will repeat the question, using their language, back to them. Sometimes this spurs them to use different language and enables them to rephrase the question)
“Well, because it is more efficient to navigate around the site”
- Why is what you are doing less efficient?
“I have to type in every command and remember the right syntax”
Now you know that the animal they were talking about was a ‘mouse’. Again remember the state of vulnerability before you respond. You don’t want to shut them down because their engagement is critical to your success. Nobody knows what they don’t know until they do, and that includes you.
How to get to the “Why”
A potent step forward to discovering “the why” is allowing people to discuss everything that is on their mind. Use your discovery sessions like a makeshift therapy session.
- Give them as much time as they need.
- Give them the space they need to surface every problem.
If you can get to the why about what it is that they’re asking about, that’ll give you:
- A tremendous amount of raw material.
- Information to build an excellent use case.
- Data to help make improvements.
- Background to provide a solution in the appropriate context.
Getting to “the why” will also build consensus among the others who are listening. They might agree or disagree with what was asked for, but once you get to “the why”, and you clarify ‘the what’ and ‘the how’ based on “the why”, that helps everybody get on the same page. It helps people recognize the value that you are bringing to the business and the role you play. Remember, ask what the goal is so you can lay out a beautiful picture about “the how” and reach for greater success. This will help you to start thinking about the big picture, the goal and the outcome. So get to the why!
Lessons Learned
- Understanding the importance of focusing on the “why” behind client requests and directives
- Learned strategies to tactfully guide conversations from the “what” and “how” to the “why”
- Developed the skill of interpreting client requirements and translating them into effective solutions
- Discovered how to use the “what’s the goal” question to build consensus and align expectations
- Recognizing the value of clarifying the “why” in order to create improved “what” and “how” solutions