From: bizjournals.com

It seems like everyone has jumped on the “Start with Why” bandwagon, ever since Simon Sinek gave his ground breaking TedTalk on this topic. In his speech, and the book that followed, Sinek encourages leaders to begin with one question: Why? Sinek’s advice is sound. However, if you take this one step further, you can dramatically change your business forever. My most successful clients start with the question, “Why not?” Here’s why.

Innovation. Responding to the question, “Why?” usually requires looking backwards. For example, “Why are we using this process to fill our orders?” “Why did we choose to offer this product in our catalog?” “Why are we offering these benefits to our employees?” Beginning with, “Why not?” immediately reframes the question and encourages out-of-the-box thinking. “Why not use a different process to fill orders?” “Why not offer an array of products in this product line for our clients to choose from?” “Why not offer our employees a benefit that no one else is offering?” This is the first step towards transforming your business into an organization where innovation trumps the status quo time and time again.

Effective communication. Most people immediately go into defensive mode when asked the question “Why?” This probably goes as far back as childhood, when you were constantly being asked why you did something, which was usually followed with some sort of punishment. Imagine how different life might been if all those “Why?” conversations started with, “Why not?”

Beginning a conversation with “Why not?” is less likely to result in a defensive reply. Keep in mind that your goal is to open up communications, so you can continue to improve your business, rather than shutting down the conversation before it gets started.

Encourages ownership. Business owners ask me all the time why their employees don’t act like owners. The answer is simple: They don’t treat their employees like business owners. Encouraging your people to take risks and acknowledging their efforts can change this dynamic. By doing so, you are in a much stronger position to engage and retain your workers than those who don’t.