Ask why, then follow up with innovation

  • Published
  • By Col. David Mott
  • 60th Operations Group
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  One of the most powerful questions for the ages is why? 

If you are a graduate from that fine institution known as the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, you immediately think, "No excuse, sir/ma'am." 

Once you get past the canned response and drill down to a problem or process with this question, you will find the root cause or the source document which will answer the question to your satisfaction. Or maybe not. 

I'm currently struggling with one of those "why" questions on a requirement placed on aircrew carrying passengers and we have uncovered a number of other questions which need to be addressed by either the numbered Air Force or Air Mobility Command. This is the power of "Why."

We recently completed our Unit Effectiveness Inspection, which helped us uncover some overlooked areas in our programs and processes. Of course, in order to complete the Root Cause Analysis to the deficiency, we will have to ask that powerful question.

Ultimately, we want to find issues through our inspection process, but this won't work unless we ask "why" at all levels. "Why do we do it this way? Why can't we change the process?  Why don't we ask for a waiver? Why don't we stop doing stupid?" These are the questions that lead to innovation.

A few months ago, I was in the control tower cab, watching all the airfield activity - this is my happy place - and one of my young controllers asked me, "Sir, why don't we have two visual traffic patterns?" After all we have two runways and multiple aircraft in the single traffic pattern that gets quite stretched out with 3 to 4 "heavies" following each other. We collectively asked the why question and quickly found the source document, a local operating instruction. 

So, after some discussion with wing leadership, we are pursuing the two-pattern option. Yes, base housing residents will get to see airpower a little more frequently and we will bear the fruits of this "why" in the form of efficient training. It didn't take an eight-step Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century event to find this solution, although some may require that process.

So what is your "why?"  Everyone has their question, but might have either given up hope to dig past the surface or worse yet, have never shared their "why?" Don't get me wrong, sometimes you find the reason and it can't be changed. There are limitations, but what has just happened is education on the topic. 

With this in mind, it never hurts to be more informed so don't stop at your job-specific questions. Ask bigger Air Force or life "why?" questions and soon you will find the power of innovation at levels you never thought possible. I believe the new static closeout dates for enlisted performance reports is a product of this question so here is my question why don't officer performance reports follow suit? 

I realize this has been asked in mass gatherings to Air Force leadership but the Navy has proven this to be a successful model.  Anyone who has written the "bottom line" on an OPR with a stratification associated with it can also envision the changes this would make to the officer promotion system.  This would give more legitimacy to a commander's officer stratification, just like it will with our enlisted corps.

There will be significant turnover at all levels of leadership this summer, so I expect everyone will hear "why" frequently.  "Because that is the way we've been doing it" should not be the answer.  Drill down, find the source and if it doesn't scratch the itch, then innovate.