How many customers do you need?
How many days of Paid Time Off do you currently have?
How many burgers do we need to serve at the picnic?
How many friends will make you happy?
How many front desk workers will be required?
How many Instagram followers will make you an influencer?
How many credits do you need to graduate?
How many simultaneous users do you need to support?
How many minutes of scrolling through Facebook is too much?
So many times we get caught up in the complexity of the situation. The “who, what, where, why, and how” wraps us in a deadlock.
Sometimes we should start with the “how many” question. It’s simple and can be effective.
“How many” doesn’t answer all of the questions, but it does remove one of the variables. This helps us bound the problem and points us in a direction.
If you’re struggling with a big and complex problem, try asking the “how many” question.
