Skip Nav  The 5 Whys  The Question You Need to Ask Yourself More
Often  "Why?" It's a simple question that we all learned by the
age of 2. Yet it may be more useful than you think. Matthew E.
May explains the 5 Whys and how you can use it to get to the
root of your problem, whether at work or at home.  Recently I
had a conversation with a friend who was upset about some
directional shifts and looming job shuffles swirling around his
company. As I listened to the lament, I recognized the fact that
he was focusing on the symptoms of the issue. All of his
reactions and proposed courses of action in response to the
unsettling circumstances didn't address what I could tell was
something deeper.  My friend had lost the raison d'etre for his
work. The connection to a higher purpose, or a deeper cause,
simply wasn't there any longer. The solution, according to my
friend, was to immediately leave. While in the end, it may play
out to be the right thing to do, the problem-solving coach gene
in me couldn't resist buttin