So What?
This question was asked often of me in my many years as a management consultant. It was asked in regards to the analysis I performed, the presentations I wrote, and the logic I used in developing recommendations.
It was asked by both the consulting partners I worked for and the many clients I served.
It was asked in different forms, with different levels of, shall we say, patience and understanding (“What are you trying to prove?” “What’s your point?!” “What’s this crap?!!”).
But always it was asked for the same simple reason: to clarify the purpose of my work and message.
So What?
It’s a great question. It forces us to think about the WHY behind everything we say and do, behind everything we PLAN to say and do. And when we think about the WHY, we become more efficient, and more effective.
And since this is in large part what I do for a living – help my clients become more efficient and more effective (in their analytical and presentation skills) – I’ve chosen the question ‘So What?’ as the title for this blog.
So What?
At this point, I’d hope you’d ask that question of me. “So What? Another blog? Why?”
This is the Age of Too Much Information (and Not Enough Time). It’s also a period of rapid change and intense competition. Success will come only to those able to sift through the noise, find the right information, draw meaning from it, and explain its significance to others in a persuasive manner. I truly believe this. I’ve bet my career on it.
So, my blog will deliver you to this promised land of enlightened analysis and inspiring presentations?
No, of course not.
But what if, through my blog, I could stimulate among my readers a few ideas that otherwise wouldn’t have occurred? Or tease out just a couple of additional questions that wouldn’t have been asked? What if I could I motivate someone to look more critically at one important piece of analysis and see something extra? What if I could convince someone to drop the business jargon from even one sentence, and write in simpler terms? Or remove a page from a draft presentation, instead of adding one?
If I could do any of these things, I’d consider that a worthwhile contribution.
What if I could do all of them? (You’ll allow me to dream a little, right?)
If I’ve learned anything in my years of training, coaching and consulting, it’s that behavioral change is difficult. It takes not just a process, but motivation and commitment. It takes reinforcement. It takes encouragement.
My intent is to use this blog to this end. To explore ideas and share examples involving analytical concepts applied in the real world, and the means by which the resulting insight and messages are presented. The goal, again, is better thought and communication. Small, steady, regular progress.
And because life is too short, I will do my best to do all this with at least an occasional sense of humor.
These are my hopes, goals and plans for this blog.
So, that’s what – for now.