it seems that the five why's would work better when asked by a consultant who was brought in by management than by employees from the lowest rung of an organizational chart.

however, myself being one of those at the bottom, I definitely like stirring things up in the bigco where i'm currently employed.

I really try to get along with everyone and see each side of a story. that said, there are times when people can be unreasonable and I figure I can't please all people all of the time.

I believe my colleagues and even upper management understand where i'm coming from when I tend to disrupt their plans a bit. my manager even reminds the execs who I am saying, "that's just the way tom is". I haven't figured out if this is a good or bad thing as of yet - good. I guess.

I think the people I work with value my opinion and I understand that once my voice has been heard there's nothing really more I can do that moment to push my ideas and get them implemented with management's blessing. sometimes, some things still go forward without their approval but this is not the norm with me.

I take the oportunity whenever it avails itself to remind them of my ideas, gently nudging them in my direction. I follow up with research i've done which makes it's way into their inboxes. from what I can tell, a little persuasion and a lot of repetition has it's advantages.

one thing is for sure. there is definitely a give and take in any dealings with people. I guess one must be prepared to lose a battle which can lighten the initial blow of rejection. just don't think the war (your cause) is lost due to one conversation across a conference room table.

I guess if the five why's don't work you can use the one big bye.

i really like discussing the personality of bigco management and simply wanted some more input than just 'beware'.

thanks.