The Power of Why

Why are loosing covers every week??

It’s marketing!?

Our prices are too high!?

The competition is stealing our customers!?

Our food has gone down hill!?

Our service is failing!?

Sound familiar? Well, instead of playing the blame game maybe start with “WHY?” and starting digging down as a team to identify the root cause and put corrective actions in place.?

Everybody wants to solve a problem quickly. The problem is that the first solution is usually not a fix. It’s usually a quick fix that does not address the root cause and the initial problem will continue to fester until it is a big problem. ?

A simple technique that I have used through out my career and continue to use with great success is the “5 Whys’ approach. This approach is not new. In fact it was developed in the 1930’s by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota. Regardless, this simple approach of just asking “why?” five times will lead the team to identify the root cause or causes and develop the corrective actions for simple and moderately difficult problems.?

In many instances when going through this process you will find that the initial “answer” is only a symptom and does not address the real problem. The Five Why’s process enables the team to dissect a problem to reveal the underlying cause.?

The key to getting down to root cause analysis to first assemble a cross functional team of operators with a designated facilitator. It's important that the team contain the people on the ground that are responsible for doing the work day in and day out. Although C-suite and corporate leaders may be able to provide valuable insights this is a process that needs to have an operators inside knowledge to understand the details and nuances that are only familiar to the people doing the work.

Once you have your team come up with a simple and factual problem statement. Such as, “Why have our covers dropped by 20% over the last three months?”. Having a clear and factual based statement can help to limit emotional and defensive responses which can impede and cloud the process.

Now we stated our problem the facilitator will start with the first “Why?” and begin to document the responses. The responses should be concise and fact based not accusatory. The goal is to get to break down the problem to the root cause not throw each other under the bus.?

At this point the initial responses will become separate lines of examination using the Five Whys to get to root cause. In some cases there may be multiple root causes to a problem that will need to be addressed. Given the example above all those responses about marketing, prices, competition, food quality and service will become separate lines of examination by asking “Why?” until we get to root cause. In some instances it may only take three asks while others might require eight. The number five is only a guideline.?

Through the process one must be careful not to over analyze and be aware when you have identified the root cause. At this time corrective actions must be developed and put in place for each level with an actionable plan and follow up in a timely manner.?

Let’s take one of the examples above.?

“Why have our covers dropped by 20% over the last three months?

Answer#1: “Poor quality food”

Corrective action: Have a chef expedite and check all dishes before being served

WHY?

Answer #2: “Cooks can’t get the food out in time”

Corrective action: Make sure cooks have tools and recipes

WHY?

Answer #3: "Because their stations aren’t set up right”

Corrective action: Build station guides for each station

WHY?

Answer #4: "Because they are new and they were never trained”

Corrective action: Develop training program and train the cooks

WHY?

Answer #5: “Because we eliminated training”

Corrective action: Understand the cost and opportunity cost of not training and reinstate training

And there you have it.?

Another potential response to the same question

Answer #1: "Poor quality food”

Corrective action: Have a chef expedite and check all dishes before being served

WHY?

Answer #2: "Because we started using poor quality products"

Corrective action: Review current specifications and make changes where quality is poor

WHY?

Answer #3: "Because we changed vendors"

Corrective action: Review vendors product quality and performance

WHY?

Answer #4: "Because we had high food cost"

Corrective action: Review menu mix and food cost contribution by item make menu changes where needed

WHY?

Answer #5: "Because we had lots of waste because the cooks were prepping too much"?

Corrective action: Review recipes, portion control and forecasting process, communication and accuracy

WHY?

Answer #6: "Because we didn’t train them"

Corrective action: Reinstate training program

By going through this exercise in almost all scenarios the root cause will be either a human or process problem. By engaging in the regular exercise of Five Why’s and root cause analysis you will create a culture of continuous improvement which will lead to more efficient operations, better quality, improved financial results and a more engaged team. The team will become more engaged and start to share ideas of continuous improvement (Kaizen).?

By creating an open environment where problems can be examined and discussed in a collaborative non-threatening manner your team will see results beyond their expectations. Issues that seemed unresolvable are easily dissected and actionable solutions are developed that will benefit all from the guest and employee to owner.?

So next time you are stuck with a problem. Just ask WHY?