The question not asked enough as a junior...

In many of the interviews I did for The Successful Associate, I asked the same question:

“What do you wish you’d done differently as a junior?”

One answer came up more than once, in different forms:

• I wish I’d spent more time understanding the why.

Not the technical why. The deeper one.

Why this deal.

Why this client.

Why now.

Why this level of urgency.

Why this person actually cares.

This doesn’t stop being relevant once you’re no longer “junior.” The people who go out of their way to understand the why tend to do better.

Here’s why:

Work can be right without being useful.

Understanding the why helps you make your work useful. When you understand the context, you naturally calibrate:

• how deep to go

• how fast to move

• what to emphasize

• what not to overbuild

You stop guessing. You start aiming.

It’s a bit like driving: you tend to steer where you’re looking.

If you’re focused only on the task, you’ll execute it.

If you’re focused on the why, your work tends to align itself with what actually matters.

Most people don’t struggle because they lack skill. They struggle because they’re solving the wrong problem. Even a beautiful solution isn't worth much if it's for the wrong problem.

Where might you benefit from taking a step back and truly understanding why something is happening?

And remember:

You've got this.