Toddlers are experts at asking “why?” Why do I have to go to bed? Why can’t I have ice cream? Why are you and daddy wrestling with your clothes off?
They ask why so they can better understand the world around them. When they get an answer they don’t like or don’t understand, they ask why again.
Adults also ask why. But unlike our little tykes, we often accept the first answer and fail to dig deeper.
If you realize that you’re not going to have enough money to pay all of your bills this month, for example, and you ask yourself why, you might look at your accounts receivable and solve your problem by sending out “late” notices to clients who owe you money.
That might be a good idea, and it might solve the immediate problem, but it doesn’t help you to get to the root problem.
So next month, you might again have a shortage of cash.
Asking “why” you have a problem helps you find the solution, but asking once may not be enough, as this post explains.
In Japanese, Kaizen roughly translates to “continuous improvement”. One of the discipline’s techniques for problem solving is to ask “why” 5 times. This helps you find the root problem.
Here’s how you might apply this to your money problem:
- Why don’t you have enough money to cover this month’s bills? Because I don’t have enough clients.
- Why don’t you have enough clients? Because I don’t do enough marketing.
- Why don’t you do enough marketing? Because I’m not good at it.
- Why aren’t you good at marketing? Because I haven’t found enough strategies that I am comfortable using.
- Why haven’t you found enough strategies? Because I haven’t spent enough time learning about the available options or how to use them.
The root of your money problem, and the solution thereto, is thus revealed.
If you stop asking “why” after your first answer (not enough clients), you may not discover a solution other than sending out late notices. If you stop after your answer to the third “why,” (you’re not good at marketing) you might conclude that things are hopeless for you in this department and give up.
Ask why 5 times and see where it takes you.
Why? Because I said so. Now go play with your toys. Mommy and Daddy are busy.
Avoid having to send out late notices with this
