How to Use the 5 Whys to Discover Your True Needs

5-why-toyotaThere are many great business processes that the rest of the world doesn’t know about. One of my favorites is Toyota’s “5 Whys.”

The idea is to ask yourself “why” 5 times in order to get to the root of the problem.

For example, a couple of years ago I didn’t want to go to a meeting.

I was having trouble figuring out why, so I used the “5 Whys” method.

1. Why don’t I want to go to this meeting? – Because it’s going to be worthless.
2. Why: Because everyone always talks about the same problems.
3. Why: Because I want to lead the meeting to be more productive, but I’m scared.
4. Why: Because I don’t want to get laughed at.
5. Why: Because my speaking confidence isn’t as strong as it should be.

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