I continue to be amazed with my role as a grandparent — it lights up my life. Recently I spent time outside on the porch, one-on-one with my grandson, deeply engaged in a game of checkers. Over the hour we played and talked about a lot of things. When I would say something, he would persistently ask, “Why?” Sometimes I would answer why only to be asked again — “Why?”
He left me thinking. When I returned to work I started asking why. My first why came when I was presented with a plan to add a new product line that would focus on a new market segment, introducing us to new accounts. Wow — who doesn’t want new accounts? I asked, Why is it that we are attempting to sell new products to new clients in a market that we are not familiar with? The response was that the product was the latest and greatest. We also needed new clients and if we didn’t pick up this product we would lose out on the market opportunity. Have you heard this before?