From MBA blog by business school students homepage
December 8, 2010 5:39pm by Barry Chien, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
In statistics class, we’re told to not ask why in the classroom because there are complex formulas behind some of the statistical principles. I agree with this approach for this class since I want to focus on applying statistical analysis to solve real world business problems instead of just memorising and analysing formulae.
When it comes to self-discipline and leading oneself, however, asking yourself why is an important exercise. Having a purpose and setting your priorities/goals/targets in stone creates a blueprint for all future action steps. I borrowed this idea from chess champion, Garry Kasparov, who said in his autobiography, How Life Imitates Chess, that the man who knows why, will be greater than the man who only knows how.
Garry said that you should always have a general checkmate strategy/game plan and that you should move all of your chess pieces from the Queen down to the pawn in harmony with overarching strategy. The German philosopher, Nietzsche, once said, “A man can bear any what if he has a big enough why.” Thus, a meaningful “end” should drive the “means” and not vice versa.
