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That's right, you are conducting research. So while I'll agree that none of us go into our daily tasks wanting (or expecting) to conduct research, we all end up doing so anyway.

It is essential to drive to a root need. When you are presented with the ambiguous request for conducting research in disguise, you have to push back. You may need to push back in a manner appropriate for your organization, but you must push back nonetheless. The best means of this is to carefully use the five whys. Rather than seek the elusive answers to questions you haven't identified, spend that energy “researching” the root question.

Most organizations (including all of the ones I've worked for) can't afford to conduct wide-ranging research and then process and utilize enormous amounts of data. It's just not cost effective. Most of us don't have the time or resources to engage in non-directed research.

Even when we try to use results of research conducted by outside sources, many times it doesn't end well. It is rare that I've found research data that fits the specific root questions my organization was working with.

Are You Already Trapped?

If you find yourself seeking answers to unknown questions, you're probably trapped. You may find yourself blocking-out four or more hours a day for a few months so you can gather information. You then find yourself determining what data is available. You start mining data from numerous sources.

One of the benefits and problems with technology is the proliferation of data. When you know what you're looking for, it's great to have it all “at your fingertips.” When you don't know what you're looking for, the mountains of data can bury you.

When you're firmly in the trap and you've gathered a lot of data, you'll be confronted with the daunting task of analyzing that data. You'll have to figure out how to pull them together—which measures have relationships with others and which don't.

When you share the results of your hard work, your boss may tell you that you've missed the mark (the mark which he himself couldn't describe, point out, or identify). You won't know if the data was the wrong data or if your analysis of that data was off. Even if you get past that, you run the real risk of inspiring your boss. He may think of other “interesting” data you could collect. This will require more searching. If you can't locate any secondary data that's already been published, you will probably have to find other ways to get the data. This may include conducting surveys, focus groups, observation, or the creation of automated tools for collecting. This in itself can be extremely expensive due to the cost to buy, and learn to use or develop tools. You realize that this path is an expensive one—with ever-diminishing returns.

The best advice I can give is, if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Instead, try to climb out of the hole—preferably by asking for a little help from your manager. I usually start by asking him to stop shoveling dirt on my head. Then I ask for a hand in climbing out. This help should be a willingness to work on the root needs. The problem is that you have to convince your boss that you need his help. You need him to give you some of his time and effort.

Ask your boss for help out of the hole (after you get him to stop shoveling dirt on your head).

Stop Digging

“We need three key metrics.” My boss had called me to his office to give me a strong motivational speech.

“Three?” It amazed me how many organizational development things came in threes. Three goals. Three process improvement ideas. Three metrics.

“Yes. But, if you come up with four or five, that's all right.”

“Uh huh.”

“It shouldn't be too hard. We have a contract with a consulting organization that has a lot of data on IT services.” I knew of this arrangement, but I hadn't seen much useful data, measures, or information in their databases.

“What information do you want exactly?” I tried not to get frustrated.

“I'm open to whatever