CEOs are an impatient breed. ❤️ Getting to the heart of an issue is a trait that sets many apart. But how do you do it?
❓Ask the question Why 5 times. It’s that simple.
Q: Why is the launch running later?
A: We ran out of time.
An average leader will take that answer and push for more resource to create more bandwidth to get things done on time.
But we want to know what is really going on?
A: We ran out of time.
Q: Why?
A: It took longer than we thought
Q: Why?
A: We ran into issues on the way
Again, it’s easy to get distracted here, digging into those “issues along the way” Let’s go deeper.
Q: Why?
A: We didn’t see these issues coming
Q: Why?
A: We were rushed during planning and just wanted to get started.
💥 There is the real reason why things have gone wrong. Poor planning. That’s the issue that needs to be addressed. That’s where you focus your energy.
Chasing down the reasons under the surface reason is where real improvement comes from. Not from jumping in and solving the superficial.
Try it, ask Why five times instead of just asking it once.
5 Whys is an approach created by Taiichi Ohno from the Lean movement.
Bonus Tip: this works great with your kids too.