How to solve any problem with the Five Whys

Brief History: The Five Whys system was created by Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota Industries, to identify the root cause of any problem. His son, Kiichiro Toyoda, along with the father of lean manufacturing, Taiichi Ohno, established the Toyota Production System. This system enabled Toyota to become the hyper-efficient and innovative company it is today.

Preface: Have you ever identified a problem in your company? Then you stand to benefit from the Five Whys. You don't need to be in automobile manufacturing.

Boiling it down, the Five Whys is a process for identifying the root cause of any issue so it can be remediated. As a concept, it's quite simple. But in practice, you may encounter many pitfalls, such as:

• Needless blaming
• How to draw a line where the problem both starts & ends
• How to efficiently remediate the problem
• Identifying the scope of the problem

Five Whys in Action: Once you have accepted the reality that every problem has a root cause, you are ready to begin implementing the Five Whys. There is no organization too large or startup too small to the point that this system will fail. However, it is critical to understand that your company may suffer from some pitfalls more than others due to its size, complexity, industry, etc.

1. Ego check: No single person at a company has all of the answers to every problem. Likewise, it is almost always the case that no individual is to blame for a problem. To start implementing the Five Whys, ensure that executives and leadership are on board with the process.
2. Start with the most pressing issues: Identify a single issue and be the champion of fixing it. Ask yourself and your teams "Why?" five times, and document each step. Once you have this documented, get together with all stakeholders of the issues at each step. Include everyone, from the lowest level intern to the top of the food chain. Having everyone in a single meeting will help ensure that blaming cannot be used as a cop-out. As the champion for solving the problem, you are the one to coordinate and gather the needed stakeholders.
3. Discuss: Now that you have identified issues & inefficiencies at multiple layers, discuss each level with the relevant stakeholders to understand why these problems exist, and what can be done to fix each of them - once & for all. It is critical to understand that the goal of the Five Whys is to completely eliminate a problem from happening again. Your group must identify the specific action items needed at each stage to ensure alignment and complete coverage when you go to fix the problem. Tip: Identify and use counter-measures to solve problems, not solutions.
4. Take action: This is the hardest part. People often feel a sense of delight in identifying problems and solutions. This is important, but it means nothing if you can't execute. Ensuring that leadership is involved and understands the criticality of the situation will help your group get buy in to invest resources in remediation. For leaders, it is extremely difficult to know where to start and the right amount of resources to provide to each step. A best practice is to give equal investment to each step, so all teams feel empowered to work together.
5. Evaluate results: The first few times you follow this process will be the hardest. Avoiding blame, argument, and other issues may not be possible until you've felt the power of the results. Keep going! Each exercise will drive efficiency, which should be measured and shared across the organization. Document the entire process.

Template:

What is the problem?

Why did the problem occur?

Why did the reason in question 2 happen?

Why did the reason in question 3 happen?

Why did the reason in question 4 happen?

Add as many whys as you need, but try to limit it to 5

Tip: There are always sub-issues for each problem. Don't let the conversation run away from you.