The 7 Levels of Why Creates Leaders

I like being around really smart people. The smarter they are the more I like being around them. I am not intimidated by them, I am instead inspired by them. Every really smart person I know paid some sort of price to be that smart. They either went to school and got their Ph.D., or they went to the school of hard knocks and got something that is Ph.D. like.

I could listen to smart people all day long and I do. I read their books and listen to their talks and I read about them and all their amazing accomplishments. Smart people have this amazing ability to connect dots in a way that is almost magical. One of the traits I have notice about people who are amazingly smart is that they ask the best questions. Frankly it is how they connect the dots; one question leads to another and another until they have figured out an elegant and simple answer to a complex problem that they have made simple through the solutions they provide. They tend to ask of themselves a question that seem to be at odds with itself. For example, how can I create a car that is twice as fast for 80% less and make a profits margin that is twice as much as the industries highest performer? For starters most wouldn’t ask that question and the few that would, most would think that the question is so flawed and impossible that why even consider seeking the answer. But there are those on the planet who love to ask of themselves these improbable questions. The greatest leaders love the idea of the impossible question to come up with the impossible answer.

Over the years I wanted to understand who was smart and why and who talked smart but whose knowledge was more show and surface, rather than profound and deep. This is when I discovered for me what I call the seven levels of why. I will listen to someone make a declaration that perhaps is bold in nature and thought provoking. When they make that statement I simply ask, “Why is that the best option?” Whatever their reply is I simply ask ‘Why does it work? Why is that important? Why does it make a difference? Why is that important to you? Why would it make a difference to me? Why would others care? I continue to ask why in various ways without them knowing that I am asking why in a way that is obvious. If I get them to seven levels of why and they had a thoughtful and profound series of responses, then I know that they are an expert and are totally on top of their game.

If they didn’t get past the first why, then I would know in a flash they had little real knowledge of the topic at hand. Most people can get past a few levels of my why’s, but very few can get to the seventh level of why. We all have subjects matters for which we are a novice and a few topics for which we can be a master of. We can be book smart and people stupid. We can have knowledge but lack intelligence which is the power to use knowledge effectively. I test the knowledge of people all the time. I am constantly interviewing everyone around me. It’s a nonstop thing with me. I ask people questions with a why element not because I am testing them, I just love to learn, and you can learn a lot by the questions you ask.

As a small child I love to ask why. I was born I suppose to be curious. I would want to know why the sky was blue and the grass was green. I wanted to know the why of everything. The why of anything is the answer to everything. Leaders move their skill sets up quickly as they understand for themselves the seven levels of why. Why is the question that transforms very capable individuals into great leaders! Never stop asking why and you will never stop learning, growing and improving. Learn to ask yourself the impossible questions so that you can challenge every day that which others think is impossible for them. The more you do this, the more you can do the impossible that is found within the seven levels of your own why’s!