That '5 Whys' technique from work actually helped with a family argument last week

I always rolled my eyes when my manager pulled out the '5 Whys' thing in meetings, felt like corporate buzzword bingo (you know, the kind where everyone just nods along). But last Thursday my brother kept dodging why he bailed on helping me move my couch, just kept saying 'something came up.' I half-jokingly asked 'why' five times in a row, and by the fourth one he admitted he was embarrassed about his car breaking down and not having gas money. It totally worked, which kinda freaks me out because now I'm wondering what else this method could expose. Has anyone else had a corporate trick actually work in real life, or is this just a fluke?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly.emma8h ago

Oh gosh, careful with that! Five questions is just the general guideline, not a hard rule. In my experience some people need fewer and some need more, it really depends on the person and the situation.

thea1435h agoMost Upvoted

Man, I had a friend who tried the "five questions and done" thing with his kid and it backfired hard. His kid just shut down after question two and would not say another word about anything. They ended up sitting in silence for like 20 minutes before giving up and going home. So yeah, you're right that it totally depends on the person. Some people just need a different approach entirely.