Often, when I talk to people who are stuck on a problem or battling a resistance to change I hear, “Well, we have to do something.” They then prattle off a number of ideas or initiatives in gatling-gun fashion, however, it’s usually pretty clear that these ideas were developed quickly, without first making an effort to understand the root cause of the problem.
Take time to understand the problem before taking action.
The situation reminds me of the Dish Network ads where the Cable Company executives are wondering how to compete with their satellite counterparts, until someone blurts out something about broadcasting in “a million 80 p.” If we’re just sitting around conference tables blurting out random ways to treat the symptoms, we’re not conducting investigations to understand the problem.
When the answer to a problem doesn’t present itself immediately, taking the spray-and-pray approach can be disastrous. In such instances, people are usually more concerned with looking like they are doing something, so they simply get busy doing anything. Studying the problem is, in many cases, not allowed due to the need to appear busy. When people are busy doing anything, they are focusing their energies away from identifying the root cause and creating long-term, sustainable solutions.
This is not an argument against quick-fix approaches when there are emergencies. Band-aid approaches are necessary, of course, because you have to stop the bleeding before you can perform the surgery. Unfortunately, if we don’t try to understand problems and work on permanent changes, we create environments where all we do is deal with the current emergency, over and over and over again.
Asking challenging questions, identifying problematic processes, and dealing with the structural and systemic causes of problems should not be dealt with in random fashion when there’s time. Throwing enough dirt on a fire to keep it under control only guarantees that it will rekindle later, creating another smoldering fire we’ll have to deal with again. Working through problems to identify why they occur leads to the development of sustainable corrections, and lays the foundation for continuous improvement.
About the author David M. Kasprzak
While working as a cost & schedule analyst, I realized that the sources of either good or poor performance usually rested in the habits, practices and mindsets of both the leadership and the led. As a result, I began to explore the “people side” of performance. On this blog, I address both workplace and family situations by applying ideas derived from Lean, Project Management, Organizational Behavior and my Master’s-Level education in Political Science and Business Administration.
While working as a cost & schedule analyst for over 14 years, I have realized that the sources of either good or poor performance usually rested in the habits, practices and mindsets of both the leadership and the led. As a result, I began to explore the “people side” of performance.
On this blog, I address both workplace and family situations by applying ideas derived from Lean, Project Management, and Organizational Behavior.
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