Sunday, February 3, 2013

5 Whys: emotion level

An important step of TBP (Toyota Business Practice) problem solving process is the famous 5 Whys.  This occurs when we've broken down the characteristics of a problem and have identified the point of occurrence of the problem, and is ready to find the root cause of the problem.  By asking "Why" five times or more, we would drill into the nature of the problem deeply, and be able to find the root cause.

This is all fine on an analytical level.  However, in practice, there is a big problem.

When you begin asking the team members involved in the problem solving "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?", it is very easy to get an annoyed team member.  This is because, to most people, they will get a feeling that, "I've just told you the reason for the problem, why are you asking me 'Why' again and again?!"  I've had this experience happened to me again and again, where, it was impossible to get pass the second "Why", because the angry team member has already tuned out and not want to participate.

On reflection, I think this kind of behaviour is expected, because all people have a sense of pride.  By asking "Why" so many times, you sound like you don't trust the person.  This is a classic problem of "it looks good on paper, but fails at execution"!

What I've learned to deal with this situation is: it is very important to explain WHY you are asking so many WHYs.  This way, the person knows it's not about not trusting them, but about going deeper into the problem.  Of course, it would also help if the "Whys" are asked in a constructive and passionate way, rather than in a terse and interrogative tone.

To expand on this idea further, it is very important that all new Team Members have a TBP training.  This way, it will bring them onboard on the Toyota Way, i.e. make them understand and embrace this new culture of problem solving.