How are you getting to the root cause of any issue you or your customers are having? What types of root cause analyses are you conducting? Are you even thinking about root cause analysis?

Conducting some sort of root cause analysis (and there are many different types) any time you experience an issue is critical for the simple fact that you want to nip the issue in the bud and not have it occur again. Too many companies fix the symptoms and call it a day, only for the issue to occur again and again. When you fix the symptoms, you’re applying bandages rather than curing the disease. Getting at the root cause and fixing it ensures the same issue won’t recur.

One of my favorite root cause analysis methods is the 5 Whys. I like it for its simplicity. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I don’t know. But I do know that simplicity allows people to really understand what it means to get to the root of the matter. It also helps you understand the relationship between different (root) causes. Simple, quick, and powerful.

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