Why do we do this?

If you know how to do something, but don’t know the why behind it…

A friend and coffee-shop barista hit me with that line recently.

He was talking about pulling shots of espresso, brewing coffee, and other coffee-nerd topics that I generally find interesting. He finished it this way:

If you know how to do something, but don’t know the why behind it, you won’t be able to fix it if it’s not working.

We went on to have a long conversation about other places that quote applies, delving into spiritual topics and church traditions. I’m glad to say I learned that he was a follower of Jesus from that conversation.

The quote keeps hitting me in different ways.

• If you know how to do something, but don’t know the why behind it, you’ll keep doing the same thing again and again, even if it isn’t working anymore.

• If you know how to do something, but don’t know the why behind it, you might stop doing it even though you should keep going.

• If you know how to do something, but don’t know the why behind it, you won’t be able to make any meaningful improvements.

• And to get back to the idea from my friend’s original version: If you know how to do something, but don’t know the why behind it, when it stops working you won’t have any way forward.

This gets back to the roadmap and compass I wrote about earlier.1 Without the understanding of a principle behind a tool, you might be really good at using a tool that has become useless in your context and situation.

Yes, there’s a space for simple instructions and immediate action: Back in the days of landlines, you didn’t need to explain the entire world of interpersonal relationships to teach a 5-year-old to pick up the phone and say: “Hello, this is the Smith residence.” But if that 5-year-old became a 25-year-old and didn’t understand the principle of caring for others through meaningful introductions, they would probably struggle in their first job.2

So teach me how to do something. Please. Most teaching I receive stops at knowledge, not at application. We need teaching to give us actionable things to do.

But just knowing how to do something doesn’t mean I understand the why.

We have to pass on the why.

I’ve failed more than I’ve succeeded at this, so here’s a restart for you and me:

Teach the how. Teach the why.