Working with others to find root causes

- There's a well known metaphor about a group of blind men that come across an elephant for the first time. Each one feels a different part of this gigantic animal from their own limited point of view and is asked to describe it. The one holding the tail says, "It's a rope." Another with his hands on its tusk says, "It's a spear." The one feeling the elephant's ear says, "It's a fan." But none of them actually sees the whole animal. Likewise, your business consists of many parts or functions. And like in the elephant story, each functions sees things from their own limited perspective. Yet, none of the individual functions sees the whole picture. Why is this important? Because you also have a limited perspective. And in order to see the whole picture, the whole problem, and find as many contributing causes as possible, you'll need to see the whole picture, which means you'll have to engage with people from multiple functions. Here are a few essential points to keep in mind while you're doing that. First, having people from different areas share their perspective opens the opportunity for others to participate in the process of solving problems. By contributing what they think are the root causes and investigating these together, they will be begin to take ownership and work with you on solving problems. Second, humans are wired to jump to conclusions. When a problem occurs, we tend to automatically guess what the root cause is, and jump to solutions based on opinions. That backfires when the same problem reoccurs. Instead, challenge the group to avoid opinions by relying on facts and data to pinpoint the real root cause or causes. That will prevent the problem from reoccurring. Third, there are people who no matter what just need to be right. They're not really interested in finding the real root cause. I know, it seems strange, but it happens. And when it does, I let everyone know that to solve a problem it's not about being right, it's about finding the root causes the right way. Fourth, humans have invented the fine art of postponing. We say we're too busy to take care of a problem and plan to take care of it later. But then we get busy on other issues and forget about it. Point out to everyone that it is a lot easier to find the root cause of a problem immediately after it happens when the clues are still fresh and easier to see. Postponing will only make the investigation much harder. Fifth, another typical behavior I encounter is blaming people and confusing that for finding the root cause. Yes, it's true. People are sometimes part of the problem. But remember, people work within a business system. Systems are often not set up perfectly, and therefore make it possible for people to make mistakes. Instead of pointing fingers at a person, point to the real root causes that are more often attributed to your business systems. Part of your role in root cause analysis will require you to coordinate and work with others. Please keep these ideas in mind next time you are working to solve a problem.