#13: How to use the Why/How Ladder to balance strategic and tactical meeting goals

I'm excited to share a visual model and set of strategic questions designed to ensure that all participants in your meeting are engaging at the optimal "conversation altitude" for maximum productivity.

Ever found yourself in a meeting where someone discusses concepts at such a high level that you're left wondering, "What the hell are we even talking about here?"

Or perhaps you've entered a meeting expecting strategic discussion, only to get bogged down in task management and logistics.

We have a “meeting altitude” issue.

Remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? One bed was too small, one was too big, and one was just right. Similarly, our discussions can misalign: they're either too abstract and lofty, or too concrete and focused on minutiae. Your role as a facilitator is to navigate to the 'just right' altitude.

Achieving the right conversational altitude yields significant rewards: an aligned and engaged audience with clear directives.

Unfortunately, many meetings miss this mark. Here are three risks of failing to align meeting altitude:

1. Inefficient Use of Time: When participants operate at different levels, discussions can stray off-topic, extending the meeting duration without productive outcomes.
2. Increased Errors: Lack of alignment can lead to misunderstandings, resulting in decisions that don't fully address the core issues, potentially leading to further complications.
3. Reduced Participation: If team members perceive meetings as unproductive or feel their contributions are undervalued, they may withdraw and participate less over time.

Most meeting leaders don’t clarify their desired meeting altitude

There are other reasons why meeting leaders fail at solving the “meeting altitude” dilemma

• They don’t define in advance what altitude they need the conversation
• They lack awareness that the problem exists in the moment
• They don’t have a good visual model to help them navigate the complex dynamic
• They don’t have powerful questions to instantly change the dynamic in the room

Abstract, big picture thinkers can get frustrated because others are too in the weeds

Concrete tactical thinkers can get frustrated because others are too pie in the sky and are confused by the jargon.

Luckily, there is a way to solve for this. Enter the Why/How ladder.

Use the Why/How Ladder to solve it

Imagine the rungs of a ladder. Higher levels of the ladder are more abstract. Lower levels of the ladder are more concrete.

Ask Why-type questions to go up levels of the ladder to abstract Needs, Opportunities and Outcomes

Ask How-type question to go down the levels of the ladders to concrete Solutions, Ideas and Experiments

Let’s explore this further with a concrete example:

The Why/How Ladder 

Step 1: Define your Levels and at what altitude you want the conversation

Last year, I was working with a product team that was looking to design a new electric vehicle (EV) charging experience for car drivers.

Let's look at this EV experience through our ladder analogy.

We had 6 different levels of conversations, meetings and workshops. The higher the level the more abstract. The lower the level, the more concrete. Here they are:

• Level 6: Grow our revenue in an adjacent market (Business Outcome)
• Level 5: Make the 30 min I now have to wait to charge my car valuable (Customer Outcome)
• Level 4: Redesign the electric vehicle charging experience (Opportunity)
• Level 3: Coffee delivery to drivers (Solution)
• Level 2: Integrate coffee delivery to our Convenience store App (Experiment)
• Level 1: use exiting API (Implementation)

Many of the meetings I led were derailed because some of the engineers that came were ready for Level 1 conversations while our product strategist was talking at Level 4.

Very different conversations, language and activities at different levels.

Start by clearly defining the levels at which you'll engage and agreeing on the conversation's altitude.

This ladder idea isn’t a new concept. The Luma Institute talks about Abstract Laddering. My example above aligns closer to Teresa Torres’ Opportunity Solution Trees. Both great resources to dig into more deeply!

Step 2: Use the Why/How ladder framework

Ask Why-type questions to go up levels of the ladder to abstract Needs, Opportunities and Outcomes.

Ask How-type question to go down the levels of the ladders to concrete Solutions, Ideas and Experiments.

Going Up the ladder:

Using our previous example, if someone shouts out “We should deliver coffee to drivers!” (Level 3), you can ask them: Why? They may respond: “Well…we want to redesign the electric vehicle charging experience!” (Level 4)

Going Down the ladder.

Similarly, if someone shouts: “We should deliver coffee to drivers!” (Level 3), you can ask them: How? They may respond: “Well…we could Integrate coffee delivery to our Convenience store App…” (Level 2).

etc. etc.

Step 2a: Use these questions to go up and down the ladder

Literally just saying "Why" or "How" may not be effective. Here are other questions you can use to get at the same concept.

Do you feel like the conversation or content is too in the weeds? Move Up the ladder with Why-type questions:

• What makes you say X?
• Connect {lower level} to {higher level} for me…
• What do you believe to be true about X?
• If we had X, what would happen as a result?

Is the conversation or content too abstract? Move down the ladder with How-type questions:

• Can you give me an example of X?
• How might we do X?
• What needs to happen with X to make it a reality?

Step 3: Capture the information to clarify the right level

After you go up and down the ladder, you eventually want to land on a rung of the ladder to make sure you are speaking at the same altitude.

Using our EV example, if the conversation plateaus at things like “Redesign the electric vehicle charging experience” (Level 4), you can write it down and play it back to the team.

Pair this with our discussion moderation technique #3: Synthesize Points and you can say something like “It sounds like we are discussing things at this level 4-type language. Is that right?”

This gets everyone aligned and on the same page.

A simple action you can take

1. At your next meeting, set a clear altitude goal at the beginning. For instance, decide whether you need high-level strategic discussions or detailed logistical planning.
2. Practice moving up and down the ladder. Use Why-type questions to explore abstract ideas and How-type questions to get practical solutions.

By consciously practicing these steps, you'll find your meetings more focused, productive, and satisfying. Don’t just meet—conquer your meetings with clarity and purpose!