I think we would all agree that identifying the root cause of an issue is important.
To quote the Management and Strategy Institute:
Root Cause refers to the fundamental reason behind a problem or defect in a process. It is the underlying source that, when addressed, can prevent the recurrence of issues. Root cause analysis is a systematic process used to identify and understand the core factors responsible for a problem rather than just addressing its symptoms. In essence, it seeks to answer the question: “Why did this problem occur?”
This diagram explains.
In my experience the root cause is usually a people issue. For example:
- An invoice to close out a swap transaction was massively overstated (tens of millions of dollars instead of a couple of thousands). The root cause was that the head of commercial accounting didn’t trust and so didn’t delegate work to his team. He kept it to himself, became overwhelmed with work, and made a sloppy mistake. While he thought the problem was that HR wouldn’t let him hire CPAs with the experience and skills he needed, we determined that his team were proficient – and he was a poor manager.
- A team within HR was months behind in processing requests for new position descriptions and related salary grades. The root cause was a manager who didn’t know how to…
