Why You Should Ask Yourself This Question 5 Times
Ask yourself this question 5 times. This trick is how experts solve difficult problems quickly.
It turns out, there's a quick and effective technique that experts use to solve problems. What's great about this technique is that it works for business problems just as well as it works for personal problems. It's a simple question but you have to ask yourself this question 5 times.
Ask yourself this question 5 times:
- Why are you doing all of this work?
- Why is that?
- And so why would that be?
- Why might you think that?
- Why again?
Seems ridiculous to ask yourself "why?" five times, but understanding the WHY behind your work is important.
This is the fastest way to move from surface curiosity to a root cause of a problem. This technique is well known in productivity circles like SixSigma.
One of the things I love about this is that it requires no math and it will help you call out the relationships between the problems you face.
It will also support your motivation, a constant daily battle for each of us. Here's a post I wrote about using the 5 Whys to solve business problems with a few extra tricks thrown in.
Sure, you don't need a great "why" to make money or do the things you want, but you do need a strong "why" if you want to live a life of social impact and purpose.
Audit your "why" and you will increase the chances of living a regret-free, purpose-driven life.
Audit your "why" in other areas of your work and life and you will get down to the real issue you need to address.
2 Minute Action
Ask yourself "why" 5 times.
You might be surprised at what you find.
If you have trouble doing this by yourself, enlist a friend to help push you.
No excuses.
Why You Don’t Want To Do What You Don’t Want To Do
What can I do for you?Why is that helpful?And why is that?Hmm, so why does that end up being a benefit?When we’re working with a team or with clients, one of the most powerful ways to create a valuable solution is to dive deep into the nuts and bolts of the problem.The saying is “5 Why’s.”It takes asking “Why” 5 times before you get to the root of the problem.And let me stop you right now from thinking that this is just some silly platitude or truism.The biggest benefit of diving deep is that by solving the root problem, you prevent future problems from popping up.In fact, fixing bugs as soon as they pop up in software can prevent extra work later on—the book “Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” mentions that problem solving can be 3-5 times more work if the problem waits a few weeks.Moral of the story?Dive deep. Dive immediately.
2 Minute Action:
What’s the thing you DON’T want to do today?Why not?Why’s that?So, why?Okay, but why?And why do you think that is?Alright, so what are you going to do about it?
All This Talk About "Intention"
I've been hearing a lot of people use the word "intention," lately.
- We need to be intentional about the way we treat customers.
- We need to be intentional about the way we use our smart devices.
- We need to be intentional about the way we spend our resources.
Basically, the word intentional just means being "aware of why we're doing this."This is another one of those concepts that's simple but not easy.Who are our customers and why do they like us? How might we make their experience better in order to improve retention, loyalty, and product reviews?Why am I looking at my phone? Am I trying to accomplish a task, relax and unplug, or reach out to someone? Would getting distracted help or decrease my chances of doing what I want? Am I in control of my attention and the content that is shaping my thoughts?Am I using our marketing dollars on an outcome that is measurable and valuable? Am I buying something that won't be useful 6 months from now? Am I spending my time on something that isn't moving me in the direction of my dreams?Asking and answering these questions takes time and a lot of effort. It's hard.Seems simple, but it's incredible how many people are moving through life without giving their behavior a reality-check.It's easier to just move through without spending all the mental energy.Mindlessly checking our phones, saying "yes" or "no" is easier than engaging our customers with a smile.Spending money on something right now will let you go faster today, but you may have to buy it again later if you didn't get the right specs.Calibrating our "why do we get up in the morning" with our actions for the day is a powerful habit.It only leads you where you want to go.
2 Minute Action
What are 3 things that you need to accomplish today?Why do you need to do them?What would happen if you didn't do them?What's the worst thing that could happen?How likely is that? Is it really that bad?I'm not saying "don't do the things you need to do, today."I'm saying: be clear about why. If you have too many days in a row where you're not sure why you're checking off these boxes, that's a good sign you might need to recalibrate your trajectory.