Curiosity is a fundamental approach to solving any and every kind of problem but the way this weapon of curiosity is wielded can either empower the process or sabotage the process. So let Us start by defining curiosity; it is simply the eagerness to know or learn something, which explains why it is a powerful tool because the extent to which you can solve a problem is limited to the extent to which you know and understand that problem.  

This subject of curiosity can be easily captured in the word “WHY” because when we know WHY a problem exists then we can easily know or design The HOW of solving it.  

And that is where it gets interesting, asking the question “WHY?” once may not like in most cases by enough to provide the needed solution or strong enough to drill down to the root of the problem, and problem like we know it are 

Like weeds, they are not cut from the root, then they will quickly grow back.  

This is why the 5 step WHY APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING was introduced as a principle: It takes the question 5 level deep, that’s is to say, the principle here is that we keep digging until we get to the main origins of a the problem, so for some questions you might need to go 3 levels deep and for some you might need to go 7 levels deep or more, whatever the case may be no matter how uncomfortable or redundant the answers may seem to be, you have to keep going until you get to the root.  

Two rules that guide the process include  

* Do not assume you know any of the answers even when it seems you: this would keep you attentive and give the person or situation the opportunity to fully express itself 

* Do not assume you know the answer: two people might ask the same question, but the answers may be different, this is because humans are like hosts and problems like viruses, they adapt based on the nature of the host they live in. And keep adapting as they move from person to person.  

Take an instance: you are walking out of your office on a cool evening after a productive but tiresome day at work, you’ve just said your goodbyes to some of your colleagues and are headed out with your other colleagues who lives close to you, on you way to the parking garage, Just as you were about to reach your car, you catch a glance of this man walking up you, he looks well dressed, and somewhat proper in his appeal, so he doesn’t pose any kind of threat, and then asks for a moment of your time, you stop to listen to what he has to say… he then goes ahead to tell you a story of how he’s had the worst life and how just a little cash from you would solve his problem which from his story is just food. Now because you know that hunger is only a bi product something else, you know that giving him money would only be a quick and temporal fix, but as a leader you know he is better off with the problem solved from the root.  

Here is what our approach would look like: 

you ask him WHY haven’t you eaten? To which he responds, “I don’t have money to afford food” and then you ask him the next “why can’t you afford food” to which he will answer, “because I don’t have a job” and then you go a step further and ask, “why don’t you have a job?” To which he will answer “because I didn’t finish college” now this answer may seem redundant because of the example, but the rule is to not assume you know the answer and genuinely listen and ask genuine questions…  

So now you go a step further “since you didn’t finish college, why didn’t you get a skill?” To which he might now answer, “I don’t have the money to learn any” or “I didn’t get the opportunity to learn one” chances are that he would willing to learn anything that helps eradicate the problem forever and then you now ask him “which skill are you interested in learning?” Now if by any chance he tells you of a skill you can teach or a skill you can connect him to someone to teach, then you would agree with me that you have solved the problem from the root and the chances that this individual all things being equal would ever go hungry again is quite slim.  

This can be equally applicable in organizations and teams. You want to make sure you solve the problem from the root of it.