In this blog, I want to talk to you about the 5 Whys Method for getting better outcomes in your organization.
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So what is the 5 Whys method?
This is a method that is credited mostly to the Toyota corporation. They are known for a system called the Toyota Way. Within the Toyota Way, there are 14 ways of operating in which they ensure that they have a very efficient and high-quality product. Of course, Toyota cars are known around the world for their reliability, high craftsmanship and their affordability.
The 5 Whys method is a way that they analyze broken aspects of their system. So if something goes wrong, what they do is, they engage in a conversation. They ask the five why’s of what went wrong. Very often when we see that something went wrong or a system failed, the first natural reaction is to ask why? What happened? Very often as leaders what we do is we stop at the first why. We allow that to be the explanation of what went wrong.
Normally if you just go to the first why, it usually is just at the level of blaming the person that didn’t do what they should have done. The problem with that is if you’ve got dysfunction in your system and you don’t take the time to find out what’s going on, you may never actually fix your system. You’ll just keep on doing the same thing.
There is a great story I read once about American car manufacturers who went to Japan to study the production line of the Toyota corporation. They got to the section where they were installing the doors on the cars and noticed that the car door went on smoothly and they screwed it all in place. It closed beautifully and the American car manufacturers inquired about how they were able to get their doors to fit so perfectly. In the American car production lines, they had a method whereby the fitters would have a rubber mallet. The door would be put on and then they would use the rubber mallet to bang it into alignment so that it closed properly.
They asked the Toyota manufacturers, ,”How come your doors just fit without any kind of rubber mallet?” They said, “Well that’s because we designed it that way. We took time to analyze what was wrong and we’ve devised a system to ensure that every door fit perfectly the first time.”
This is where the 5 Whys method really comes into play.
If something goes wrong; let us say you are a fast-food chain and your burger goes out wrong and a customer complains. The first “Why” question you might ask is, “Why did the customer not like the burger?” They might tell you they didn’t have certain ingredients or it was made badly. The second “Why” might be, “Why was it made badly? Maybe it’s because the person who was making the burger failed to follow the system or the procedure. If that’s the case, then you have to ask another “Why” question. “Why didn’t they follow the procedure? Was it perhaps because they weren’t trained in the procedure.” Then you’ve got to ask whether they had a bad attitude? This will help you identify the next layer of the problem. You also ask, “What’s wrong with our induction that allows somebody to go through the system and not get trained properly?” If there’s a problem with the induction system then ask, “Why is that a problem? What do we need to change to ensure that this doesn’t happen again?”
By asking “Why” you can see very quickly that if you ask 5 Whys about the problem you can drill down to what becomes a core issue. Often you’ll drill down to the level of your systems. You’ll find that there’s an aspect of your system that is broken. Whether it’s a lack of training, lack of communication, lack of implementation or whatever it might be, you will find that there’s a breakdown in your system.
That is where you need to fix the problem. It is no good just blaming the person that got it wrong. You cannot just tell the customer, “Sorry that guy is new and he did not know what he was doing”. You cannot simply yell at your team member because he did not do the right job. You have got to figure out why they did not do the right job.
Ultimately there is a problem with your system that caused that result. So that is where the 5 Whys Method really comes into play. It helps you identify the problem so it does not get repeated. You do not want to keep having people make bad burgers. You can actually deal with the system that caused it in the first place, then create a team that is able to produce the results that you want them to produce.
Here are 4 steps to implement the 5 Why Method to analyse your systems and make sure you are getting better outcomes in the long run.
1. Invite all parties to participate in the conversation.
The first thing is this. You need to invite all parties to participate in the conversation. It can’t just be the high-level management people that are at the top talking about what went wrong. You need to involve the people that are on the ground, who are hands on with the problem in the first place.
Ask them “why”. They will have a different perspective to what the middle management will have. Middle management will have a different perspective to what upper management will have. Upper management will have a different perspective to what the CEO has. So you’ve got to involve all members of the process to make sure that your “Why’s” are getting to the root of the problem.
2. Ask the 5 “Whys”
When you have got this group in a room talking about the problem, you have got to be willing to ask the 5 “Whys”. Don’t get stalled by the first or the second problem. Each person that identifies a problem will think that their view is the be all and end all of it. Very often team members will zero in on what they understand, what they know and what they feel confident with.
So, often they will say, “If you fix this, then we would not have problems.” That might be part of the issue but you have also got to understand there might be layers of issues that need fixing. Be prepared to go through the process of asking all 5 “Why’s”, not just stalling at one. There may be a deeper issue that is at work and you’ve got to go through that process.
3. Identify some Solutions
The third thing is this, once you have identified the root problem, then you have got to identify some solutions. There is no point knowing what went wrong if you are not prepared to fix it. You have got to go through a process and again this involves your whole team. You ask everybody, “How do I fix this problem? How do I get a better outcome?”
Along the way, what you will find is that often somebody who is a process worker, who is on the ground and is a hands-on person, will have a different reason as to why your system doesn’t work. You need to listen to those people because they will have a better understanding of how there can be a practical solution, than somebody who is in an office.
4. Communicate the Solution
You have got to involve everybody in the solutions process. Then, once you have identified the solutions and you have rolled the solution out, you need to make sure you communicate it. Communicate it to everybody. Make sure there is re-training. Ensure that everybody on the team understands how the system has changed. The last thing you want is an old system overlapping with a new system and causing confusion. Have a very clear top to bottom communication on how the system has been tweaked and why it has been tweaked.
That is my synopsis on the 5 “Whys” method from Toyota. I hope that was helpful. I find it really helpful for analyzing problems and system breakdowns in my business and the church organization that I’m a part of. I hope that you can start implementing that in what you do as well.
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