The Consultant and the Owl
- edd220
- Aug 15
- 3 min read
The Starting Line
We all know the moment. The owl takes the pop. Counts: “One. Two. Three…” and crunch.
The original Tootsie Pop commercial (https://youtu.be/O6rHeD5x2tI?si=qOZ2dGdnkjQIS7FY) captures the exact moment when curiosity meets impatience. It is a funny visual, and a painfully familiar one if you have ever been part of a rushed discovery process.
In the first article of this series, I looked at how organizations sometimes skip the process too soon and default to the crunch. This second piece is about what happens when that same habit shows up in our consulting and discovery work.
Course Map
This article explores what happens when consultants or internal teams follow structured discovery frameworks but fail to go deep. Whether it is a rushed 5 Whys or journey mapping that never moves beyond the surface, the shortcut feels smart in the moment but rarely gets to what matters.
The Ride
We may have great frameworks. We may even kick things off with strong facilitation and stakeholder interviews. But how often do we stop at the first or second answer?
The 5 Whys becomes the 2 Whys. Journey mapping becomes whiteboard theater. "This is how we have always done it" gets taken at face value.
And like the owl, we crunch through the middle and call it insight.
Here is what we miss when that happens:
We surface symptoms instead of causes.
We chase fixes that do not align with human needs.
We stop short of hearing what customers, employees, or partners would actually find valuable.
The Riders
This is not just a consultant’s challenge. It is a shared one.
Executives may feel pressure to show progress quickly.
Clients may want to reinforce what they believe is already true.
Teams may be too tired to revisit well-worn issues again.
But speed without substance backfires. Rushing the question leads to recycled answers.
Terrain
This shortcut shows up when:
Discovery is treated as a formality.
Outcomes are predetermined before the work even starts.
Teams are afraid to challenge sacred cows.
Value is defined by what is easiest to implement, not what is most needed.
When that happens, solutions may look polished but feel disconnected.
Shift Gears
To get beyond the crunch:
Stay curious beyond the first answer.
Turn resistance into inquiry. Ask what makes the current state feel safe or familiar.
Focus on the human lens. Would customers, employees, and partners say this matters to them?
Make depth a discipline, not a luxury.
Reality Check
What is a discovery activity you have led that stopped short of real insight?
How do you respond when someone says, “That’s just how we do it”?
Would your customers and employees say the last major change was designed with them in mind?
Finish Line
The owl’s shortcut was memorable, but it missed the point. So do a lot of well-structured discovery processes when they stop short of asking the harder questions.
Real consulting work means staying with the “why” long enough to challenge defaults, include more voices, and let real insight emerge.
Because better questions lead to better answers and better outcomes.
Join the Breakaway
If your discovery work looks structured but never gets past the second “why,” you are not alone. I help CX leaders and consultants move beyond surface-level methods to uncover what truly matters to customers, employees, and partners.
Ready to go deeper? Visit www.podiumcx.com to connect.
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