1, #91 - What? So What? Now What?
STEPS 2, 3, 4, 5: THE SUCCESSIVE WHYS Repeat the process for every statement on the wall, asking “Why” about each one. Post each answer near its “parent.” Follow up all the answers that seem likely. You will probably find them converging; a dozen separate symptoms may be traceable back to two or three systemic sources.
Art Kleiner • The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies for Building a Learning Organization
I’m sure Land never thought of his creative process as being divided into Why, What If, and How stages. But the logic in this sequence reflects how people tend to approach and work through problems—progressing from becoming aware of and understanding the problem, to thinking of possible solutions, to trying to enact those solutions.