When the quest for performance is established the most relevant question becomes “how”. The work to be done is to become more efficient and find ways how to become better.

It’s a situation in which the question “why?” becomes disturbing. It is either questioning the purpose of becoming more efficient and possibly what is being done as such or it is received as a potential for having done something wrong.

Things shift if the first question being asked is “why?” It asks the hard question. It asks “what are we doing this for?”, “what do we want to achieve?”. It becomes a question that reveals one’s responsibilities and ethical aspects of the work being done.

It is stepping out of a zero-sum game where the winner takes it all.

It gives the question “how?” a different meaning.