'So What?' The Chunking Up Exercise

When my clients tell me what they want—in their career, their lives, or a specific negotiation—I often ask, “Why do you want that?” People give me reasons like, “So I’ll be thinner, richer, happier.” And to those answers I often ask, “So what?”

It’s Socratic methodology that causes you to look more deeply for what is the biggest outcome or the biggest impact of your ask. 

And when you chunk up to the biggest outcome or impact of your ask, you often discover more authentic, values-based answers like freedom, wellness, choice, and contribution. In other words, asking "So what" allows you to connect the personal to the professional, and perhaps even the social and political. And this is why we say learning to negotiate is so transformational.