Kevin Ferrara, AFSO21
Businesses often have difficulty in pinpointing the root cause of their dilemma. Operating a business involves putting together many pieces of a machine so that the end-product whether it is tangible, or intangible is effective and valuable not only to the company but to every stakeholder, especially the customer.
How many times have you listened to a young child ask “Why?” over and over and over? Were you frustrated or were you laughing because it was not you who was subjected to the blitz of questioning? Do you think that child was asking “Why?” because he or she didn’t know better or were they seeking an answer to something they observed? The two most common childhood questions many of us have asked or heard is “Why is the sky blue?” and “Why is the grass green?” Let’s be honest, the typical response is, “Because it is”. This answer is given most often because the person answering does not honestly know the true answer.
In all seriousness, let’s take a moment to think about why young, impressionable children ask so many “Why?” questions. The most logical answer would be they are inquisitive and they possess a thirst for knowledge. If that’s true, then at what point do we as adults lose the desire to dig deep and learn as much as possible about our observations? As adults, do we assume we know everything hence why we don’t ask “Why?” as often as we did when we were young? Are we just too busy to seek answers? Or, do we simply not care enough to know the truth?
In business, not knowing the “Why?” can result in a loss of customers, revenue, staff, or even the company itself. Before you take a knee-jerk response and attempt to resolve what you think you believe is the right course of action, remember the five “Whys?”. This may seem silly, maybe even confusing, or even common sense, and you’d be right. However, not everyone thinks the same and often overlooks the obvious. Asking “Why?” to a situation within your company is very effective in determining the root cause.
For example, a local pastor was looking at the front steps of his church one early morning and noticed the stonework on the front steps was deteriorating, more noticeable than it had in the past. Despite the church being over 100 years old and the fact these steps were a solid three inches thick, the pastor thought the stone would have been more durable and could last the test of time, or at least 150 years as many other church steps in the area have done so. Inquisitive, the pastor approached his maintenance supervisor and asked, “Why is the stone on the front steps deteriorating so fast?” The maintenance supervisor replied, “Sir, we use high-pressure sprayers to clean those steps every few weeks, and when we spray, the stone flakes apart in places.”
For many, that answer would have sufficed, and the pastor would have been justified with a resolution to instruct his maintenance supervisor to stop high-pressure spraying the front steps. However, after a few weeks of not spraying the steps, that resolution may lead to some church attendees to state, the front steps appear dingy. Appearance is everything for some, especially when they arrive for church dressed in their Sunday-best attire.
Giving the situation some more thought and being the inquisitive one that he is, the pastor asked, “Why are we high-pressure spraying the steps every few weeks?” And without missing a beat, the maintenance supervisor replied, “To remove the bird droppings.” The pastor then asked, “Why are there so many birds leaving droppings?” As if watching a volley in tennis, the maintenance supervisor replied, “They pluck the spiders off their webs above the main doors and in doing so, they leave their droppings on the steps below.” The pastor taking another crack at getting to the root cause asked the maintenance supervisor, “Why are there so many spiders near the entrance?” In keeping pace with the volley of questions, the maintenance supervisor answered, “The spiders feed off the flying bugs that get caught in their webs.” In his fifth attempt to seek an answer, the pastor asked his maintenance supervisor, “Why are there so many flying bugs?” After a back and forth of question and answer, the maintenance supervisor replied, “Sir, because of the bright lights at either side of the entrance doors that come on every night.”
Sensing a glimmer of resolution, the pastor asked his maintenance supervisor a different question, “What can we do about the lights?” The maintenance supervisor stood there, collected his thoughts and after a few moments responded, “Sir we could install a motion switch for the lights. The lights won’t turn on until someone walks near them, that would keep the flying bugs away at night I suppose.” “Perfect!” stated the pastor, “Make it so!”.
In the end, due to the lack of a stable food supply, the spiders eventually relocated, as did the birds. The need to high-pressure spray the steps every few weeks was extended to every three months with no need to spray in winter. This reduced the amount of water used to spray the steps as well as reducing the operation and maintenance costs associated with the high-pressure washer. Additionally, the cost to light the entrance doorways was reduced because the lights were not on throughout the night. Also, while minimal, the cost to replace light-bulbs was reduced. In the end, asking ‘why” five times resulted in finding the root cause as to why the steps were deteriorating as well as identifying an effective means of reducing costs to the church.
As you can see, asking “Why?” not only stirs the mind for the one asking, but the mind of the one or ones answering. The result, the organization begins to think alike and can anticipate the needs of the organization or stakeholders; efficiency and effectiveness are observed. So, next time when a small child runs up to you and asks “Why?”, take a deep breath, relax, and answer the question as best you can because you know after you answer, the flurry of other “Whys”” is coming. The same is to be expected in business. When the boss asks “Why?”, don’t avoid the question. Rather, engage in a back-and-forth discussion because after five “Whys?”, the root cause will either be identified, or it will begin to reveal itself. And yes, sometimes it takes more than five “Whys?” to get to the root cause but that’s okay. The goal is to identify the root cause so if it takes five or twenty “Whys?”, run with it because asking a question is free whereas implementing an ineffective resolution is not.
