Ask why five times

The first in an ongoing series of tips on the art of questioning, posted under the category “Q-Tips.” (Should I trademark that?)

First up: “The 5 Whys”—which I’ve known about for a while (I mentioned the 5 Whys in my last book, Glimmer), but which I was reminded of recently by AMBQ collaborative team member Bill Welter. He posted on the site’s forum:

Toyota shifted the Japanese car market in the 1980s with an emphasis on quality. Factory workers were encouraged to ask ‘Why?’ at least 5 times. The ‘5 Whys’ technique is still the foundation of quality programs around the world. (Too bad about the recent quality issues at Toyota—maybe they forgot to ask the questions that made them famous.)”

This process of asking 5 whys is not just applicable to making cars—it can be used in almost any type of creative endeavor. It can even be used to make sense of your own life. The design firm IDEO, which is a big practitioner of the 5 Whys methodology, offers this as an example of how asking 5 whys can help you dig down to a deeper truth.

One might ask, Why stop at five? Why not just keep asking why endlessly? The answer is that you will drive the people around you insane. The comedian Louis C.K. captures this nicely in this bit.