Why is the sky blue, and the grass green? Why can’t I hit my baseball in the house, but the baseball players can play inside?  Why do cats meow? 

And my personal favorite, provided by my son at a much younger age, “Why can’t I lick the dog, if he licks me”.

If you have ever spent more than a few moments with a naturally inquisitive child, or me for that matter, you likely have been met with a string of “Why’s”. While this challenging, and seemingly never ending game of interrogation can appear simply as a ploy to make Mommy and Daddy lose their minds, it’s actually an innate response to the unknown. 

We are born to question the unfamiliar, we are meant to not just ask why, but what if and what else. Somewhere between the sweet innocence of childhood and the overwhelming responsibility of adulthood many of us have stopped asking why, and simply just accept what is. 

The power of why is what drives us forward, promotes innovation and change and gives us the ability to create. Why makes us look not just at the problem, but at what is causing the failure and allowing it to thrive. Treating the symptoms without identifying the root cause will only leave you cleaning up the same mess time and time again. 

After months of begging, I allowed my son to get a kitten. I warned him it was a bad idea, as Boomer the Savannah, and more so Ditto the Bengal, are large, somewhat wild, and can be quite territorial, however, his requests persisted. I caved, as a crazy cat lady, what’s one more? Binx came home. We kept them separate for the recommended amount of time and did a slow introduction. All seemed fine for weeks. The kitten was acclimating, Boomer accepted him with open paws, and Binx was full of love. 

Shortly after the integration began and Binx started to explore, Ditto’s fierce exotic behaviors started to emerge. Binx was a target, and Ditto was relentless in his murderous tactics. We did all we could to mend the relationship but hit the wall when Binx started using the bathtub as a litter box. 

It made no sense. They were fine. They even almost snuggled and groomed each other. I knew what the problem was, but I had to discover why. 

When identifying an issue, before diving into a hunt for a solution, slow down and ask why this is happening and what is contributing to the behavior or actions and the decline. I typically start my journey off by looking into four categories of potential demise. 

People: Binx is a fine cat, Ditto is just an instinctual beast. At their core, neither is doing anything outside of their defined job description, except for the gifts left in the tub. To narrow down the cause of the behavior the first step was to fully re-vet and requarantine the kitten. All results came back normal and confirmed that Binx is physically well, and he has had no bad litter box habits while silo’d. 

It is imperative to begin with the assumption that the person (or cat) is not bad, lazy, slightly demonic, or truly dreadful. However, beginning with investigating the human contributions can help to narrow down the root cause quicker. Determining you have a bad egg and removing or correcting can eliminate the issues immediately. In learning that the egg itself isn’t terrible, you have the ability, and now firsthand insight, into your other potential categories that are responsible for the misses. 

Binx and Ditto are not to blame and no one is getting kicked out yet. But identifying a bad seed that slipped through the hiring process, and is unwilling or unable to perform to the expected standards is the quickest solve in this chain of why. 

Back to the pound they go.  

Process: We followed all the rules. We’ve done this integration process three times prior without fail. Why was it not working? Just as in business, one can not rely solely on historical success, but learn from it. Our homes, offices and shops are filled with different people with varying personalities and experiences, as well as a changing landscape of customers and products. 

We had to pivot quickly for the well being of the kitten as he was losing chunks of fur faster than they could grow back. It was time to start from scratch and evaluate where the original process had failed us. I wasn’t ready to scrap the tried and true, but was ready to try again with some tweaks given their personalities. 

After six more weeks of keeping the cats separate, we began reintegration, slower than previously, and with more supervision. 

The benefit of questioning the process allowed us to accept that times, and cats, change and we must be willing to adapt in order to reach cohabitation. 

If your organization has outgrown your current processes, systems, and structure, it’s time to revamp and renew how things are done, hold onto what works, dump what doesn’t, and be ready to adopt some new ideas. 

Systems: All systems go. Tried and true systems that tie into our processes are standing by for usage. The boxes are clean, there’s plenty of them. Enough food and water to fulfill at least seven little fanged mouths. Everything was set up for success. No fighting, no biting, no hissing, just kitty kissing. 

As surely obvious by this point, we were mistaken. 

Systems that have proven successful for years suddenly start to appear to be failing. Small changes that have been implemented without consult, total platform upgrades that were not fully vetted, and even simple unavoidable maintenance downtimes can cause disarray and malfunction temporarily. At times, changes to the other categories are required to maintain fruitfulness, but the wheel typically does not require reinventing to get back on track. Instead of chasing your tail, be sure to evaluate all possible variables before embarking on an adventure that will leave you spinning. 

By this time, I was at my whiskers end. I wasn’t sure if I could fix the contention but was determined to find the root cause of the battles. I asked myself one more time…

But Why? 

Structure: There was already one king of the forest residing here, and he was not giving up his throne, not for no one, no how. 

By adding another male cat, a smaller one, one that is docile and domesticated, we unintentionally upended the hierarchy. 

In our offices and shops, one seemingly minor shift in organizational structure can lead to a rebellion if not carefully prepared for. A new service writer no one has ever heard of, internal promotions or demotions, staff changes, even a simple swap of work areas, can leave our people feeling disappointed, confused, and frustrated if not given the tools to cope with change. 

Sure, it’s your company, you’re the boss, but without our people, we aren’t getting much done. When it comes time to change a piece of the business that affects each person day to day, it’s just as important to answer “why”, as it is to ask it. 

Most of the time more than one of these factors is affecting the homeostasis of your environment. Continue to ask why and you will find the root cause to your team’s pending collapse allowing that to be cured and preventing the spread of infiltrating fleas of failure. 

Binx has been with us for ten months, we are still far from a pile of kitties snuggling on the couch but the blood curdling screams of terror are behind us. 

The power of why has allowed Binx to keep his fur and only leave deposits in designated areas. It has also given me the ability to objectively decipher and work issues that arise both at home and in the office. 

I challenge you to keep asking “Why” until you find your truths.