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The Rashomon Effect: Seeing Quality Through a Wider Lens

How conflicting perspectives shape—and misshape—quality

Daiei Studios

Toshiro Mifune and Daisuke Kato in the 1950 film Rashomon.

Akhilesh Gulati
Wed, 05/21/2025 - 12:03
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When we step into a complex organization—whether in manufacturing, healthcare, or finance—we often find ourselves navigating a sea of competing truths. Everyone seems certain they see the problem clearly. Yet somehow, solving it feels harder than it should.

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Why?

Often, it’s not the facts that differ. It’s the interpretation.

Enter the Rashomon effect

Named after Akira Kurosawa’s iconic 1950 film Rashomon, the term refers to how multiple people can witness the same event and come away with completely different accounts. Each person believes they’re telling the truth, but their truths conflict.

In organizations, the Rashomon effect shows up when departments, teams, or individuals interpret the same issue in vastly different ways—based on background, incentives, or domain expertise. It shapes how we identify problems, assign blame, and pursue solutions.

Let’s explore how it plays out and how we can navigate through it.

 …

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Comments

Submitted by Chilau (not verified) on Wed, 05/21/2025 - 23:39

QM

This is the unobvious - all think they "know" till a cross-functional structured thinking-model is objectively applied - I was wowed the first time I did TRIZ Level I. Great write!

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Submitted by greg (not verified) on Thu, 06/05/2025 - 07:07

TRIZ value

Reframing is critical to understanding the problem.  TRIZ is a scientific method that can be integrated in different frameworks including including risk.

Very nice piece.

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Submitted by CG Mistry (not verified) on Sat, 06/07/2025 - 20:07

Feedback

The article is very relevant to any set up where problems are hard to define and solutions hard to come by. Team problem solving is in essence the true cure for any issue tat keeps on repeating.

Good job, Keep up the good articles coming.

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