Ask "Why" Five Times

On Toyota's factory floors, when a machine stopped, settling for the first explanation was forbidden. The method, credited to Sakichi Toyoda and turned into doctrine by the company's engineers, was brutally simple: ask "why?" about five times, until you hit bottom.

The machine stopped. Why? The fuse blew. Why? The bearing was running stiff. Why? It lacked lubricant. Why? The pump wasn't sending any. Why? Its filter was clogged. Replacing the fuse fixes the afternoon; cleaning the filter fixes the problem.

Outside the factory it works just the same. "I'm always late." Why? I leave with no margin. Why? I dawdle before going out. Why? I dread what comes next. And suddenly you're no longer talking about clocks: you're talking about a job that grinds you down — which was the real breakdown all along.

The practical rule: when something fails — a habit, an argument that keeps repeating, an expense — don't stop at the first why. It is almost always a well-dressed symptom. The real problems live four floors further down.