Have you ever had a problem, whether at work or at home, that just doesn’t seem to get fixed? You keep whacking at it, throwing random fixes at it, then cross your fingers and hope they work. But in the end, your problem is still there and sometimes it’s worse!
Root What?
To truly resolve a problem, or figure out why something isn’t working, it’s important to take the time up front to understand the real problem, or the root cause. Is it really that you don’t have time to exercise, or is it something else? Is it really that your vendor keeps failing you, or is it your internal processes that are failing?
Problem-solving that’s committed to finding a valid, viable solution isn’t easy. It often involves a lot of head-scratching, frustration, wasted time and money, and many times results in more of the same all over again. When we’re mired in frustration we tend to turn outward with our blame – it must be someone or something else not holding up their end. The reality is that we control our outcomes – good, bad or ugly – no one else. Let me say that again…we control our outcomes.
Lean Belts??!
I’m sure most, if not all, of you reading this have heard of Six Sigma. Maybe you know people who have “belts” in Six Sigma, meaning they’ve studied and mastered the techniques of Six Sigma for process improvement. Six Sigma was developed in 1980 by Bill Smith, an engineer at Motorola as a process improvement methodology for Motorola produced, improving to 99.99966% defect-free. Believe it or not, it works. In the mid-1980s we began to hear more about “Lean Six Sigma” which was designed to compete with Japan’s Kaizen model. Today, you may simply hear the term “lean”.
Ask 5 Whys
For those who don’t have formal training in Lean or Six Sigma but want to be better at problem solving or process improvement, one of the most powerful tools of this methodology is the “Ask 5 Whys” process. Simply stated, when you’ve identified a problem ask yourself “why” five times, sequentially answering the question each time. By the time you get to your fifth round, you’re really getting to your root cause AND to something you can now devise a viable strategy to fix. Here’s a simple example of “5 Whys” in action:
In Action
Problem: I want to lose 25#, but my weight won’t budge.
Why won’t your weight budge? Because I’m not eating right.
Why aren’t you eating right? Because I don’t cook healthy meals.
Why don’t you cook health meals?……
See where this is heading? As you were reading, my guess is you quickly leapt to a solution. Remember, I said this was a simple example! Life’s, and work’s, big problems are usually not this simple. But, using the “Ask 5 Whys” technique could help you whittle down your problem to the root cause, and something that’s manageable to fix.
Kids & Problem-Solving
And if I haven’t convinced you to try this….there’s this. Think about a small child. I know you’ve experienced a small child that seems to incessantly ask questions….and it’s usually “why.” Why do I have to eat that? Why is does that car go fast? Why do I have to comb my hair? Why, Why, WHY? As an adult, we sometimes want to tear our hair out because it seems they ask 50 whys, not just five! But….what are they doing? They’re problem solving. Didn’t think about that, did you? Yes, they’re problem solving. In their brand new, pliable minds, they’ve encountered something that doesn’t sit quite right with them or they don’t understand. So, the best way they know how to understand is to ask….why! Brilliant and out of the mouths of babes!
How do you go about solving what seems unsolvable? Comment below and let me know what you think….I’d love to hear from you!
