WHY , Why WHY?

Are we solving the right problems?

How good is your team at problem-solving? Probably quite good. What research tells us is that what employees struggle with, is not solving problems but figuring out what the problems are.

"If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it” - Albert Einstein

While one might argue with Mr. Einstein about the ratio, this quotation does highlight a common mistake that leaders and teams make in the problem-solving process, and it’s this:

If you jump to solutions too quickly, you may find you’re solving the wrong problem.

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. It might feel comfortable, for example, because we do not want to lose time right now, yet, on the longer term, we will save on time and costs, if we stop ourselves from fixing problems as quickly as possible. It takes courage to stand still and make time to solve the problem.

Can you take the first step in helping your organization change the approach and dare to stand still when faced with a problem? Any problem? 

IN THIS LEARNING KIT: 

1. Are we solving the right problem?
2. The 5 Why's

3. How to take this forward?

The 5 Why's

Today, with Doris, you have explored the tool called "The 5 Why's". We will give you a summary of the tool here so that you can continue to apply it in the future.

The intention of the tool

The 5 Why's Tool is a simple technique you can apply to any problem. By repeatedly asking the question, “Why,” five times you can discover a lot and get into the cause of the problem. The whole idea is to remove the layers of the problem and discover the root cause of it.

steps 

STEP 1. Write down your problem
This step in itself is powerful, especially when you are working in a team. Describing your problem on paper is the first step to understand your problem better. It forces us to think about details we have yet to explore. 

If you are working in a team, allow everyone to write down the problem individually first. Later, you might discover that you all have different perspectives on what the problem actually is, to begin with.

STEP 2. Share & Align
Share your problem with the key stakeholders. If you are working within a team, have everyone share their descriptions. Adapt the descriptions until you have one that everyone agrees upon.

STEP 3. Ask Why
Now, you are ready to start Asking Why. Make sure to write down the answer below your problem description. 
Continue to ask why for at least 5 times. Sometimes the question becomes annoying or feels a bit offensive. Alternatively, you could ask questions such as:

Why is that?
Can you explain?
Why does that happen?
How come?
How can that be so?
etc.

Here is a template that you could print out and fill-in with your team members.

STEP 4. Loop back if needed
In the beginning, you usually won’t find the root cause of the problem so loop back to Step 3 until you or the team agrees that the problem’s root cause has been identified.

How to take this forward?

As you have already practiced with Doris, there is no extra task needed for this session.

The challenge for you is to make a habit of taking a step back to understand the root cause of problems. To help you do that, we have listed 2 articles and a video. Take the time to go through them as they can help you understand the tool The 5 Why's in-depth and take it to the next level, by looking at reframing a problem into an opportunity. Read and watch them all, and we encourage you to share your insights with your team.

Learn more about the 5 Why's tool

Article
How to use 5 Why's as a project manager, including tips on how to apply it in your organization. (9 mins read)

Video
A 3 minutes video introducing the tool and highlighting the need to look for human problems to prevent operational issues.

Learn more about reframing your problem

Article
Explore other techniques that help you to diagnose a problem and reframe it into an opportunity. (8 mins read)