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753 : STEP ONE – SEEKING AND SHAPING OPPORTUNITIES

an open mind, unblinkered by industry or sector convention. It can also
provide a constant challenge to your opportunity definition, and avoid
you rushing down the type of blind alley highlighted in the earlier hot
wax story.

the ‘5 whys?’ technique This straightforward but effective

technique stemmed initially from the world of manufacturing
production. Toyota pioneered the technique in the 1970s to attack the
root causes of manufacturing problems rather than treat the symptoms
or the contributory causes. The technique recognises that very often the
ostensible reason for a problem will lead you to another question. Four
or five repeated questions tend to be sufficient to peel away the layers
of symptoms to reveal the root cause of a problem and show how the
total problem is structured.

It is most useful to you during the opportunity-shaping step as a
technique to break down market opportunities into their constituent
parts and to generate market insights.

Imagine that Ray Kroc had used the ‘5 Whys’ technique when he
discovered while selling milkshake machines to hamburger joints in
1954 that one particular outlet in remote California was buying more
than its location and floor space seemed to justify:

Why is the outlet buying more milkshake machines than its floor space
would suggest?

Because the outlet is attracting a greater throughput of customers
than its competitors.
Why?
Because customers find its offering more attractive than that of the
competitors.
Why?
Because the food served is consistently tasty and does not involve
the customer having to wait.
Why?
Because the store staff are very effective at what they do.
Why?
Because the menu is very limited and the staff are directed to
specialise in a very small number of highly systematised tasks.

Owned by two brothers, Dick and Maurice ‘Mac’ McDonald, the
hamburger restaurant offered a very limited menu, concentrating on just
a few items: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, soft drinks and
milkshakes, all at the lowest possible prices. Ray Kroc realised the