Are you relying on gut feel to diagnose difficult problems in your organization? If the answer is yes, there is a good chance you are going to be led astray. Why? Because “until you really take the time to analyze all the data and use the tools to properly get to the root cause, you're just going by assumptions,” says John Dyer.
And assumptions can be wrong, even very wrong, say Professor Mohamed Saleh and Dyer, co-hosts of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement.
In this episode, the two continuous improvement experts delve into the tools and techniques they employ to get to the root cause of difficult problems. They talk tools, such as fishbone diagrams and the 5 Whys. They discuss the right and wrong mindsets for a successful root cause exercise, meaning that “if you've already made up your mind what the root cause is going in,” then any tool “is just a waste of time,” says Saleh.
Finally, this podcast concludes with the co-hosts sharing detailed examples of root cause problem-solving efforts they have been engaged in and promoting the idea that it is important to look both wide and deep as you explore symptoms of whatever problem you are trying to root out.
