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11–Root Cause Analysis – Business Meditation 7
35 Plays3 months ago
In this seventh business meditation of the Unfolding Thought series, Eric Pratum guides you through a Root Cause Analysis—a practical framework for identifying and addressing the deeper issues behind your challenges.
Often, quick fixes and surface-level solutions fail to create lasting change. Root Cause Analysis helps you dig deeper, asking “Why?” multiple times to uncover the fundamental problem and develop actionable solutions. Through this guided exercise, you’ll learn to approach challenges with clarity, explore meaningful solutions, and take the first step toward resolving recurring issues.
Whether you’re managing workplace challenges, personal relationships, or systemic problems, this episode will help you break free from cycles of frustration and create lasting impact.
Mentioned in the Episode:
- How Root Cause Analysis helps you move beyond quick fixes.
- Using the “5 Whys” technique to uncover the deeper issues behind a problem.
- Practical steps to identify solutions and commit to action.
Links:
Start at the beginning of the series:
- On the website: https://unfoldingthought.com/unfolding-thought/
- YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-WyDzPVJzUqWSGGIM0lSxqk4T-TBmsrQ
- Or by searching for Episode 4, titled Unfolding Thought, in your podcast platform of choice.
Visit the Unfolding Thought website: https://unfoldingthought.com/
Learn more about Root Cause Analysis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_cause_analysis
Join the Conversation:
Have thoughts or questions about this episode? Reach out to Eric at eric@inboundandagile.com or connect on social media.
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Transcript
Introduction and Importance of Starting from Episode One
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to Unfolding Thought. I'm Erik Prudin. If this is your first time listening to one of these business meditations, I encourage you to go back to the very first episode of this series. There, I explain the purpose and structure of these episodes and how you can get the most out of them.
Introduction to Root Cause Analysis
00:00:23
Speaker
Look up episode four of the Unfolding Thought podcast titled Unfolding Thought in your podcast player, or check the link in the show notes. Thank you for joining me.
00:00:36
Speaker
Today, I'm going to guide you through an exercise called Root Cause Analysis.
00:00:44
Speaker
This is a powerful tool for identifying and addressing the underlying causes of challenges rather than just treating the symptoms. Often, when we encounter problems, we focus on quick fixes or surface-level solutions.
Session Guidance and Identifying Challenges
00:01:04
Speaker
But without addressing the root cause, the issue is likely to return. Root cause analysis helps you dig deeper to understand what's really going on so you can make meaningful and lasting progress. For this session, I'll act as your guide, asking you questions to help uncover the root causes of a challenge you're currently facing.
00:01:33
Speaker
As we go, I'll pause to give you time to reflect. For this exercise, I highly recommend writing down your thoughts. The act of putting them on paper can help clarify your thinking and take what is often a vague thought or response closer to something that is real that you can wrestle with here. If I move too quickly, feel free to pause the recording at any time. Let's begin.
00:02:06
Speaker
Start by identifying a specific challenge or problem you're currently facing. It could be something at work, a project that stalled, or even a personal issue you're struggling to resolve. The more uncertainty, the greater the lack of clarity about what the future might look like. The higher the stakes, the better.
00:02:35
Speaker
Do you have a challenging employee or boss? Are you and your spouse constantly at odds? Does it seem like there's always a fire drill at work and you never get a chance to just do the work or just relax even a little bit?
Exploring Deeper Reasons with 'Why' Questions
00:02:57
Speaker
What is a big problem you're dealing with right now?
00:03:22
Speaker
Now, take a moment to describe the problem in detail. What's happening? When does it occur? Who or what is involved?
00:03:38
Speaker
If you're writing things down, describe the who, what, when, and where. If you're not writing things down, I recommend you pause the recording and tell me the story of this problem. I know it seems silly, but trust me, it helps. And even if you feel silly or skeptical, try it for just 10 minutes here.
00:04:29
Speaker
Next, let's begin uncovering the root cause by asking why. Why do you think this problem exists? If you only ever put out fires at work, why? Is it your clients, your employees, a bad project you sold?
00:04:57
Speaker
Whatever your problem is, why do you think this problem exists?
00:05:19
Speaker
Okay. Have you got a potential reason for why your problem exists? Now, why does that reason exist? If it's fire drills at work and the reason is that your employees are not handling things on their own, why is that? Why does the reason for your problem exist?
00:06:10
Speaker
I've been giving you about 20 seconds for each response. And if you haven't had to pause the recording yet, you might need to now. We've asked why twice. Now humor me. I want you to ask why three more times. You might feel like a small child that just won't stop asking why.
00:06:38
Speaker
And that's okay. Often, what we already know limits what we can see or imagine. Children know very little, so they're not as limited when it comes to trying to understand things they do not yet understand. And that's what we're going for here.
00:07:02
Speaker
We want to get past what we assumed we knew and find out if there's anything underneath or behind that, if there's any root cause. So far, we have a problem. We asked why it exists. Then we asked, why does the reason for the problem exist?
00:07:28
Speaker
Now ask why that exists. I'll give you a bit longer to answer these questions here.
Solutions and Actions for Root Causes
00:07:37
Speaker
And at the end of this, we're looking for a total of five whys.
00:08:40
Speaker
Hopefully you've reached a point where it feels like there are no more answers to why that reveal anything of meaning or substance. If so, this is potentially the root cause of your problem. Take a moment to reflect.
00:09:02
Speaker
Does this feel like a fundamental issue behind your problem? If not, you're going to need to keep going.
00:09:31
Speaker
Let's move to the next step and identify some possible solutions. What could you do to address the root cause of the problem? Think of as many ideas as you can, even if they seem small or unconventional.
00:09:53
Speaker
You're not being asked to address anything here. Just imagine what you could, would, or should do, no matter how off the wall some ideas might seem.
00:10:30
Speaker
Now that we've explored a wide range of possibilities, which of these solutions feels the most practical or effective? Which one are you willing to commit to trying?
00:11:09
Speaker
Finally, let's focus on the next steps. Imagine you can stop fighting those fires or arguing with your spouse or dealing with whatever your problem is. Is that motivating enough to take action right now?
00:11:32
Speaker
What is one specific action you can take today to begin addressing the root cause?
00:11:59
Speaker
When will you take this action? Commit to a timeline. Put it on your calendar, your to-do list, or wherever it is that this will not be lost.
00:12:28
Speaker
I want you to reflect on what you hopefully uncovered during this exercise. By identifying the root cause of your problem, you've taken an important step toward creating meaningful and lasting change. Root cause analysis is a simple but powerful framework for solving challenges at their core.
00:12:57
Speaker
Here's why each step of this exercise is important. First, defining the problem ensures you understand the challenge fully before diving into solutions. Second, asking why repeatedly helps you move past surface level explanations and uncover the deeper issue.
00:13:24
Speaker
Third, generating solutions allows you to explore different ways to address the root cause, increasing your chances of success.
00:13:36
Speaker
Finally, fourth, planning next steps ensures you take action to resolve the issue rather than letting it linger.
Conclusion and Further Engagement
00:13:47
Speaker
By taking the time to identify and address root causes, you can avoid recurring problems, build stronger systems, and make more thoughtful decisions.
00:14:01
Speaker
If you'd like to learn more, I've placed links in the show notes. I also encourage you to email me at ericatinboundandagile.com or to reach out to me on social media. Thank you for your dedication to this. I hope you found it valuable and hope you will join me for the next business meditation.