The 5 Whys: A Simple Trick to Fix Recurring Problems Fast

Ever feel like you're fixing the same issue over and over — and nothing actually changes?

You’re not alone. Most people (and teams) end up putting Band-Aids on the surface symptoms instead of getting to the real root of the problem. That’s where the 5 Whys technique comes in.

It’s simple. It’s fast. And yeah… it kind of works like a toddler interrogation:

“Why?”
“But… why?”
“Okay, but why though?”
(You get the idea.)

Here’s how it works:

You take a frustrating issue — something that keeps coming up again and again — and you ask “why?” five times in a row (or however many it takes) to peel back the layers and get to the core cause.

Let’s look at a real example I’ve seen:

❓ Why do our meetings feel so unproductive?
➡️ We never make clear decisions.

❓ Why don’t we make clear decisions?
➡️ We spend most of the meeting recapping and debating.

❓ Why do we spend so much time recapping and debating?
➡️ People just show up and share whatever’s on their mind.

❓ Why don’t they know what to share?
➡️ There’s no agenda or prep ahead of time.

❓ Why don’t we plan the agenda?
➡️ We don’t make time to prep — or even decide what the meeting is for.

At first glance, it looks like a people problem (“stop yapping Doug!”).
But when you dig in, it’s actually a structure problem… (oops.. sorry Doug..)

No prep → no clarity → no decisions → a giant waste of time.

What makes this powerful?

Most of us are quick to jump into fix-it mode — especially when we’re busy. But if you’re solving the wrong problem, you’re not actually solving anything.

The 5 Whys slows you down just enough to:

• Stop blaming symptoms (like “Doug talks too much”)

• Uncover the actual cause (like “we never plan the meeting”)

• Solve something real (like “we need a 3-minute pre-meeting plan”)

Try it yourself

Grab the next recurring issue that’s driving you nuts — at work, in life, whatever.

Ask:

1. Why is this happening?

2. And why is that happening?

3. …And why is that happening?

Keep going until you hit something that feels like, “Oof. That’s it.”

Then fix that.

🎥 Want to see it in action? Watch this Locker Room Chat episode

And if you try it, let me know:
What was underneath your whys? 👀

• Transcript

  if you find yourself faced with the same problem over and over and over again and never gets solved, then I have a technique for you. It's called the five why's technique, and you guessed it. You ask why a whole bunch of times.

  Here's what this looks like in practice, and a real example. I've come across with a lot of teams.

  Why do our meetings feel so unproductive? Oh gosh. We never make clear decisions.

  Okay. Why don't we make clear decisions? We've spent most of the meeting. Recapping or debating or talking through stuff.

  Why do we spend so much time recapping and debating?

  Well, honestly, people just kind of show up and that's what they think they should share. Why do people not know what to share in our meetings?

  Well, there's no agenda or information shared about what we should be doing ahead of time.

  Why don't people know what they should be doing ahead of time? Well, we don't plan the agenda early enough or ever.

  In a situation like this, it's not that people are just yammering on about stuff, it's that

  there's not enough preparation and structure to allow for a great meeting.

  Instead of trying to cut people off and help people stay focused, in this [00:01:00] situation, we've just found out it's because we don't have structure or clarity in what we should be talking about.

  So next time you've got a problem to solve and you're trying to get to the root of it, try this technique and let me know how it goes.