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Find the Root Cause by Asking "Why?" (Five Times)

Learn this simple technique to dig deep and fix problems for good.

Author

Brent Summers
February 07, 2025

The Five Whys is a problem-solving frameworking developed by Sakichi Toyoda to improve manufacturing processes.

How it works:

  1. Clearly define the problem.

  2. Ask "why" the problem occurred.

  3. Use the answer as the basis for the next "why."

  4. Repeat until you uncover the root cause.

  5. Identify countermeasures to address the root caue.

Problem: Client churn hit 28% this quarter

  1. Why? Three enterprise accounts left simultaneously

  2. Why? They never adopted key platform features

  3. Why? Customer Success team missed adoption targets

  4. Why? CSMs managing 3x recommended accounts

  5. Why? Growth outpaced CS hiring

Root cause: Success capacity didn't scale with sales

Countermeasures:

  1. Redistribute accounts.

  2. Link hiring to revenue growth.

  3. Revise compensation.

The Five Whys is easy to use and requires no special tools, but it isn’t perfect. It works best for straightforward problems with clear cause-and-effect relationships. For complex issues consider other approaches like a fault-tree analysis.

Keys to success

  • Bring in multiple perspectives to avoid bias.

  • Ask "why," not "who."

  • Focus on process issues, not individual blame.

  • Stop when the solution is actionable, even if it’s fewer (or more) than five whys.

Quick execution. Deep insights. That's the promise of Five Whys. Your mileage may vary—based mostly on the quality of your analysis.

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