Why UCEC

By Mark Inboden

You may have thought I made a typo by not inserting a question mark in the title. In fact, it is not a typo, but a statement that I'll explain below.

As the President/CEO, it is my job to think about UCEC five to 10 years down the road. My focus must be on “Why” we do things, and not “How” we do things.

I read a lot of articles that support this notion (Check out the end of the post for links to two of them). The main thread I see is that focusing on “Why” is more customer oriented, and “How” is internally focused. When I look at any situation that is brought to me, I try to step back and ask, “Why are we doing this in the first place?’’ before I proffer a “How to” fix it solution. I ask myself what needs to be accomplished for our customers, and why this is a “How to” problem for us. This type of thinking has led us to engage customers differently and to make our “How to’s” much more efficient.

No matter what role you are in at your place of business, try looking at things from a “Why” perspective. You might see that your "How to” thinking is preventing you from focusing on your end customer.

Here are two links for additional reading :

Moving from a "How" to a "Why" Company

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Mark is President and CEO of UCEC.

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