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“Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

toyota-global.com

61–70 of 172 posts

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#61
post #9

I don't force it 5x but asking why was the best lesson I learnt working with users/clients as people tend to talk about solutions and not the problems. That's also where my nickname comes from.

I've tried forcing it 5x and found that the fifth Why is exactly the point where they get annoyed and stop talking to you. So there may be a magic insight at the fifth Why but you'll never hear it :)

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#62

There seems to be some confusion/mis-interpretation about the 5 part. This is called 五回のなぜ in Japanese ("Go-kai no naze," or Why Five Times) and refers to root cause analysis. Of course the number of times the process need be repeated until the root cause is identified is variable. Five in this case is merely a jingly mnemonic, as Japanese people are so fond of.

Could it be a play on the word 誤解 [1]. As in '誤解のなぜ’.

[1]http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E8%AA%A4%E8%A7%A3&ref=sa

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#64

Ask why more than twice at my job and you'll get in trouble. Sometimes the boss, and the customer, doesn't want to be asked. I think this idea is too aggressive and indicative of high pressure sales tactics.

It can be done without just seeming rude. You just have to practice a bit.

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#65
post #9

I don't force it 5x but asking why was the best lesson I learnt working with users/clients as people tend to talk about solutions and not the problems. That's also where my nickname comes from.

I usually ask, "What problem are you trying to solve?", to anyone who brings me a solution instead of a problem, but it comes down to the same thing. I guess I don't even really know which question would be more efficient at getting the real answer.

The problem they think they need to solve is usually not the problem that needs to be solved. Hence the 5X (or more) to reveal the actual problem to solve.

I think this really old article addresses it better. It's self-explanatory.

Managing Complex Design Projects (1995) http://www.dubberly.com/articles/managing-complex-design-pro...

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#66

Ask why more than twice at my job and you'll get in trouble. Sometimes the boss, and the customer, doesn't want to be asked. I think this idea is too aggressive and indicative of high pressure sales tactics.

You can often avoid asking the "why" question explicitly. If you instead ask about the unintended consequences of the current policy, people will elaborate on the reasons why the situation is undesired, without you asking for it.

For example, in the third question of the article you could ask "Is this the usual level of lubrication?" and you will reach the same conclusion of "No, the oil pump on the robot is circulating less oil than normal."

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#67

There seems to be some confusion/mis-interpretation about the 5 part. This is called 五回のなぜ in Japanese ("Go-kai no naze," or Why Five Times) and refers to root cause analysis. Of course the number of times the process need be repeated until the root cause is identified is variable. Five in this case is merely a jingly mnemonic, as Japanese people are so fond of.

Could it be a play on the word 誤解 [1]. As in '誤解のなぜ’. [1] http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E8%AA%A4%E8%A7%A3&ref=sa

Could you explain this play on words for someone who doesn't know Japanese?

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#68
post #9

I don't force it 5x but asking why was the best lesson I learnt working with users/clients as people tend to talk about solutions and not the problems. That's also where my nickname comes from.

I usually ask, "What problem are you trying to solve?", to anyone who brings me a solution instead of a problem, but it comes down to the same thing. I guess I don't even really know which question would be more efficient at getting the real answer.

I wonder how that sits with "Don't bring me problems—bring me solutions" that I occasionally hear from non-technical managers...

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#69

There seems to be some confusion/mis-interpretation about the 5 part. This is called 五回のなぜ in Japanese ("Go-kai no naze," or Why Five Times) and refers to root cause analysis. Of course the number of times the process need be repeated until the root cause is identified is variable. Five in this case is merely a jingly mnemonic, as Japanese people are so fond of.

jignly?

jingly!

Re: “Ask 'why' five times about every matter”

#70

There seems to be some confusion/mis-interpretation about the 5 part. This is called 五回のなぜ in Japanese ("Go-kai no naze," or Why Five Times) and refers to root cause analysis. Of course the number of times the process need be repeated until the root cause is identified is variable. Five in this case is merely a jingly mnemonic, as Japanese people are so fond of.

jignly?

Jingly – like a jingle.
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