Have you ever struggled to find the answer to something or create a solution that sticks? Sometimes it can be because you haven’t got to the real heart of the issues – and that’s where questioning techniques can be so useful. You may have heard of the Toyota Motor Corporation’s process: ‘The 5 Whys’, which was developed by Taiichi Ohno in the 1950s to help with problem solving.
We certainly find that questioning enables us to challenge assumptions and beliefs. I’ve seen it work very well to help business owners and managers uncover realities that, between us, we can then tackle head on.
Here’s a typical example of how questioning could work:
- Why haven’t I got enough cash? (Because I’m not raising invoices quickly enough.)
- Why’s it taking me so long to get invoices out? (I keep putting off admin.)
- Why am I putting off admin? (Because I don’t enjoy it.)
- Why don’t I enjoy it? (Because it takes too long and I could be doing better things with my time.)
- Why does it take too long? (Because it’s something I’m not an expert in and it takes time to collate all the information I need.)
From this, we can get to the real nub of the issue and therefore come up with an effective solution. In the case above, it may be to outsource your bookkeeping and/or go on a cloud accounting package.
You can use this questioning technique for yourself or do it with a colleague – or with us at Mullen Stoker.
This article was first published in our newsletter, Beyond The Numbers. You can see the full edition here: https://mullenstoker.co.uk/beyond-numbers-issue-1-2018/. To receive a printed copy, please get in touch with a member of the team.