The Toolkit

My life has been most heavily influenced by one particular practice, which I later learned is one of the most important tools in any MBA’s analytical toolkit, the 5-Ys tool. Veterans in management field tell us in grave voices that any problem gives you the right solution when you ask it 5 whys – like why is the problem a problem? Why is the why of your problem, a problem and so on… By the time you reach the 5th why, the problem would be so bugged up that it would unravel itself to you. You see, the 5-Y test was never designed as a test of reason; it was designed as a test of endurance, something similar to the eternal war between the eroding water and resisting rock. But why am I rambling? Let me narrate my story now.

When I was young (you can include sentences like the world was green, the grass smelt new etc etc), I was driven by the thought that I must pursue the path of scientific discovery all my life. Nothing in my imagination could be more romantic than spending the entire day in abstruse discussions and finger tingling experimentation. To be a scientist seemed to be the pinnacle of existence. And then came along this weird habit of mine. I didn’t know then that it had been christened 5-Y, nor did I know that it was the favored practice of the management profession; had I known, I would have gone to the exorcist.

I committed the blunder, I asked the first why – Why do I want to be on the path of scientific discovery? I asked myself. Its only now I realise that there was a meek little voice in my head that said, “Is it necessary to know why you are interested in something? Isn’t the fact that you are interested a sufficient reason to pursue the chosen path?” But what was a meek voice against the roar of the 5-Y that deafened my ears? Not even aware of any dissention in my intellectual ranks, I honestly answered the first why – “I want to pursue science because it gives me the quickest path to my dream – awards, and maybe even the Nobel Prize.” And glad that my objective was clear I continued on the path, now no longer looking at the path but eying the goal.

What I wanted was distant, and I didn’t notice what was nearby – the glorious path that I was traversing; a path beautified by the devout hands of the greatest minds. The lack of joy, of wonder and rapture caused the second why to spring forth – “Why is it I want the Nobel Prize?” I asked myself. A lot of rumination on the said question led me to an uncertain reply – Nobel Prize and such awards are the door wardens to the realm of fame and wealth. The answer did not appeal to me, I had never thought of money and fame to be my primary drivers; but the chain of reasoning was unquestionable, the methodology universally accepted and practiced. “Further”, I said to myself, “this is an objective, scientific evaluation. It must be better than any subjective analysis I can undertake.” Taking the result of the analysis to be true (against my better judgment), and considering this in context with the fact that the goal was too distant, I began looking for alternatives and shortcuts.

Imagine, when to my consternation, the first image to rattle in my head was the image of a successful management graduate; the effect of noticing too many a career discussion was evident. I fought against this idea tooth and nail, but the intersection of the result of the 5-Y test and my newly discovered disillusionment with science was too narrow to fit any other idea. So off I went in search of greener pastures in the management domain.

Money entered, but the disquiet didn’t make an exit. That’s when I asked the fourth why – “Why do I want money and fame?” Pat came the answer this time – “Happiness”. And I started looking for what makes me happy. Now you know the reason why I am blogging with vigour, why I am reading with renewed vengeance (of course you don’t know that I read, let me take this opportunity to tell you that currently I spend a lot of time reading).

And you know what; I now greatly fear the fifth why. If four whys could change me from a man of science to a man of literature, wonder where a fifth one will take me.
I presume it is the application of the wrong tool that has me in these straits; a five force model rather than 5-Y would have set me firmly on track.
There was a time when I had all the tools, but didn’t know the application. Now I know the application, but my toolkit is lost. And the few tools I managed to retrieve are rusted due to disuse.