Why "why" is the Question You Need to be Asking
Why ‘Why’ is the Question You Need to be Asking
In ‘Continuous Improvement’ asking ‘why’ about nearly all aspects of how your?business works, how certain things are done, who does what and ‘why’ certain?processes are done in certain ways, is crucial to get to a root understanding of the core structure of your business model.
If you don’t ask ‘why’ on a regular and ongoing basis you will not get to the root cause of where processes are inefficient, why they were developed in the first place, where and how they are going wrong and why no one is telling you when things are not working as they should!
Problems may occur at any time in an organisation, and we need to recognise that sometimes the problems that we see are symptoms and not the root causes of the actual problem
In Continuous Improvement there is a problem-solving tool that we call the ‘5 Whys’.
The ‘5 Whys’ technique is an effective tool to get to the root cause analysis of a problem as it helps you reach it, which helps prevent recurring mistakes
The basis of the tool is that you ask the question “why” to a problem that you have encountered.
By repeatedly asking the question ‘why’, you can drill down through the layers of symptoms to find the underlying root cause of the problem.
How to carry out ‘5 Whys’ Analysis
? Write down the problem
? Ask why the problem happened?
? Write down the answer
? Using the answer, ask again why it happened?
? Write down the answer to that question
? Keep looking at your last answer and ask why the problem occurred?
? Ask the question until you have found the root cause
When applying the ‘5 Whys’ technique, you want to get to the cause of the problem and then fix it.
One thing to be aware of is that using ‘5 Whys’ may show you that the source of the problem is something that you weren't expecting.
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Such as a process step problem rather than a technical one or human error or lack of training for example
Asking ‘why’ is a short, sharp and very effective way of digging down to the root cause of any and all problems in business. There are various examples of what is known as the ‘5 Whys’ methodology online. Make sure you take a look at the one relating to the Washington Memorial as that one is really interesting. Here is one of my own examples of the power of asking ‘why’ and what sort of things it can uncover!
The number of times you have to ask ‘why’ obviously varies according to what the process or problem you are trying to fix is, so it may go further than 5, or then again, less! The following is a generic example of how the process can work in practice:
‘5 Whys’ Example
So, at this point the answer to the initial question is clear, though the required?discussion over the cuts to the training budget may not be as straightforward as you would like. The point is, if you don’t ask ‘why’ a lot of things will stay hidden to you until the damage is so bad you start losing clients and income streams.
Many aspects of ‘Continuous Improvement’ approaches to business can seem clear to the point of being obvious when explained in an article like this, but many businesses are not continuously asking ‘why’ and are therefore travelling on a journey with one eye shut. They are not aware of what is going wrong alongside what is going well.
Don’t be afraid to ask ‘why’ and keep on asking it until you get to the root cause of your problems.
That’s when the true process of problem solving can start. That’s when you take back control.
If you’ve benefitted from this, please share it with your friends or colleagues.
Full Circle have 3 Continuous Improvement training programmes that go into much more depth and provide you and your team with the ability to “Learn, Do, Implement”.
Our programmes enable you to recognise who your improvement champions are, how to develop them and move your improvements forward, especially in the competitive world we live in.
In addition, we have a free downloadable PDF called "Taking Continuous Improvement from Concept to Business Reality". There is a newsletter sign up form on there, but please note we don't believe in spammy emails so you won't hear from us all the time.
Thanks for reading, have a wonderful week.
Liz