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My cousin insisted I ask 'why' three times before giving any answer online.
He said it forces you to get to the real root of the problem. I thought it was silly until a user asked about fixing a slow website. My first thought was 'get more server space.' After asking 'why' three times, I realized their images were huge, uncompressed files. Saved them $80 a month on hosting. Anyone else have a simple rule that actually works?
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margaret7366mo ago
My own three whys just lead me back to why I ordered takeout again.
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derek_lee6mo ago
Sounds like your cousin is onto something... I tried that "why" thing once when my internet kept dropping. First answer was "bad router." Third "why" in, I realized I was just too cheap to call the company and complain about the ancient wiring in my building. Sometimes the real problem is just you being lazy.
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paul876mo ago
Your cousin's method is solid, it cuts through the easy answers. I use a version of it for work stuff all the time. Instead of just "why," I'll ask "what happens if we don't fix this?" That usually shows if you're just putting out a small fire or stopping the whole building from burning down. It saved me from wasting a week on a feature no one actually needed.
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matthewmiller5mo ago
That "what happens if we don't fix this" question is a game changer... It forces you to see the actual cost of doing nothing. Like, if a client's checkout button is the wrong color, not fixing it might just mean a few grumpy emails. But if their entire payment system is down, not fixing it means they lose all their money tomorrow. It turns a vague "this is bad" into a real choice about what you're actually trying to save.
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