This sounds so basic….I mean, isn’t the truth about something self-evident?  Often in business we have so many metrics, so many smart people’s opinions, so much expertise and openness….how can we not know the truth?

Well, the reality is that the truth isn’t always so obvious…. especially when things aren’t going well. It could be a project that’s falling behind, a surge in attrition…the problem is that there can be many reasons, but how do you actually get to the truth of the matter and what should be fixed first?

One technique I find myself using more and more is the following….

Ask people. But people have to be asked in a way that encourages them to tell the truth.

Hence, the interviews.

I like interviews because they are rich in information.  It’s usually by someone neutral.  Someone who doesn’t have an incentive for the outcome. And it needs to be a methodology that is credible. A few times in my career, I’ve either participated or initiated an assessment where a neutral party comes in and interviews a whole bunch of people.  It’s anonymous and anonymized. The group is made up of people who matter.  I don’t see the details but a report is usually issued that identifies the key themes, with verbatim comments which really bring the point home.  The questions are the same no matter who the person is.

The interesting thing with this exercise is there are always key themes. By the time you are doing interview 12, you know what the key theme is. But every interview gives an interesting nuance or example of why they answer the question the way they do.

It’s hard to figure out what’s true with a group of smart, focused people who are struggling. Individual random polling isn’t a great way of gathering information.  But when you can say we interviewed these 30 people, and all of them listed this as the number one reason the project is going wrong?  Well, you’re getting to the truth.