The 2W/2H Method: A Framework To Pinpoint Problems In Your Writing, Business, And Life

Hey there!

There is one book I wish I could gift every 20-year-old.

“The Goal” by Eliyahu Goldratt.

To this day it has shaped my worldview & impacted my decision making more than any other. The reason is because it introduced me to “The Theory Of Constraints.”

What is the Theory of Constraints?

Simple.

At any time, there is only one thing keeping a system from growing. This is known as a “bottleneck.” When you find it and improve it, the entire system profits: better goal setting, bigger impact, and attention on the right things.

This is the theory.

The hard part is zeroing in on the constraint or the bottleneck.

• Understanding why you are stuck

• Knowing where to look for a bottleneck

• Grasping the kind of bottleneck you have (even when you find it)

Which is why today, I want to share a simple framework developed by Dr. Allan Barnard, the CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, to help you pinpoint the kind of bottleneck you are trying to solve so you can address the right problem at the right time and make the next big change in your business, your writing, or your life.

The 2W/2H Framework: 4 Problems That Create Bottlenecks In Your Writing, Life & Business

Dr. Barnard teaches that there are only 4 types of problems that lead to a bottleneck:

• A what problem

• A how problem

• A how to problem

• A who problem

Knowing which kind of problem you are facing makes all the difference in making better, faster decisions, when it matters most.

Each Problem Raises A Question

Let’s dig in.

The What Problem

Of all the things you could focus on, is it clear what you should focus on?

• Writing content for organic reach

• Launching a new product to attract new customers

• Pre-qualifying sales leads to keep your sales team from wasting time

What is it for you?

If you can’t answer this, you’ve got a “what” problem.

Which means you need to figure that out your “what” first. Hint: follow the money. Back up from the time a customer clicks “Buy Now” and look for points of friction in your production and delivery. Leverage the Bottleneck Thinker Questions to help you dig in.

Once you know “what” to focus on, you can move on to the question.

The How Problem

Do you know how to go and do “what” needs doing to fix the “what” problem?

Don't gloss over this point. If you don't have a proven method to tackle your objective, your odds of success are remarkably lower. Seek education, mentors, or training to unlock a path forward.

For example, we spent $68K to attend Cole Gordon’s 8-Figure Boardroom Mastermind in Los Cabos, Mexico to help us scale to $10M (our what). In the first 24 hours we knew the 1 thing we needed to go and do: launch the Premium Ghostwriting Academy (PGA). Which we knew how to do.

So, if you know how, then you don’t have a how problem.

Let’s look at the next kind of bottleneck.

The How To Problem

How good are you in actually following the process?

You know how, but are you good at doing it? How good are you in actually following the process that you've been educated on with the courses that you've attended, the books that you've read, etc. When we were planing to launch PGA, our first high-ticket program, I knew I had a “how to” problem.

I had zero experience with sales.

And once I learned how to sell, then I practiced. I made hundreds of sales calls before we launched the beta cohort of PGA. After putting in the reps, I knew how to do it, but I no longer had the time.

Which brings us to the next problem.

The Who Problem

If not you, then who?

Who is really good at doing what you need to get done? Somebody in your company, somebody external, somebody you can train up. Back to our PGA example. Because we had a “who” problem, we decided to hire two rockstar closers to help us sell PGA.

Cole and I worked 1:1 with our new sales team to teach them “how-to” sell PGA.

• We planned each zoom call meticulously

• We partnered on the sales script (show one, teach one, do one)

• We debriefed after each session to fine-tune the offer

And when once they had successfully removed their own bottleneck of closing a PGA sale, Cole and I were free to focus on other areas of the business.

This is how bottleneck thinking works.

You move from one kind of bottleneck to the next—until you obliterate them!

Journal Through The 2W/2H With AI

Set aside 30 minutes this week, grab a double-espresso, and work through each question for any challenge you are currently facing until you are clear on your next move.

Here's an AI prompt you could use to help identify the type of problem you're facing as a writer, based on the 2W/2H framework:

As a writer, I'm currently facing a challenge or bottleneck in my work. To better understand the type of problem I'm dealing with, please ask me a series of questions based on the 2W/2H framework.

For each of the four problem types (What, How, How To, and Who), provide a brief description and then ask me 2-3 targeted questions to diagnose if that's the primary issue I'm facing.

At the end, based on my responses, indicate which type of problem seems to be my biggest bottleneck and provide a brief recommendation on next steps I could take to address it.

My current writing challenge: 

[Briefly describe your current writing challenge or bottleneck]

You can input this prompt into an AI writing assistant like Claude or ChatGPT, and it will engage you in a back-and-forth dialog to help diagnose your problem type.

Here's a sample of how AI might respond:

The AI can then engage in a dialog to surface your key constraint and offer customized advice. This structured prompting approach can be a powerful way to leverage AI to gain clarity and direction around your specific business and life challenges.

Boom!

That’s it for this week.

Chat soon!

–Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole

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