Use Five Whys on late payments
Run a Five Whys analysis on a recurring late-payment problem in a photography business.
A commercial photographer has three invoices paid 20-35 days late, creating cash-flow stress and awkward follow-ups. Ask why until the cause points to a process you can change Stopping at clients are bad at paying creates resentment but no operational fix. Why 1 Why was the invoice late? The client did not process it until after the due date. This is still a symptom. It describes what happened, not why the process allowed it. Why 2 Why did they process it late? The invoice went to the marketing contact, not accounting. Now the cause is moving toward handoff and ownership.…
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