Forget the Root Cause: Fix the Problem and Move Forward
When dealing with any challenge—whether it’s a business turnaround or a personal hurdle—focusing on root causes often becomes an excuse for inaction. It’s easy to hide behind analyzing why things went wrong, but that won’t fix the issue. The real solution lies in taking decisive, immediate action.
Imagine you’re on your way to an important meeting, and a car accident is blocking the road. Do you need to know the root cause of the crash? Absolutely not. You need to find another route—fast. The same logic applies to a struggling business. Whether it’s a cash flow crisis, an operational failure, or a leadership gap, solving the problem now is what matters most.
Momentum is everything. Once you’ve tackled the immediate challenge, there’s time to reflect and plan for the future. But until then, don’t let overanalyzing the “why” become a roadblock to action.
Not quite. Paralysis by analysis is the classic description, and of course, we should not allow ‘overanalyzing the “why” [to} become a roadblock to action’.
However, the more common managerial failures in a struggling business are complaceny (‘it’s a temporary situation’ and ‘we hope that things will improve soon’) and short-termism (‘get a bandage on that bleeding wound’ or ‘we need to new regulations, rules or standard operating procedures’).
It seems at first reading that the mini-article promotes short-termism and organizational calcification.
In turnarounds and transformations, there is never enough time tomorrow to fix the problems of today. Each day we must make progress.
Kicking a dead skunk down the road does not lessen its stink.
Thank you for commenting, Peter. To me, the most important part of a turnaround and financing is momentum. Momentum requires action, every day.
When there is a problem, the symptom fix is the immediate action. If a root cause is a fraud, for example, there is likely an internal control issue that requires action. But, there is also, possibly, incorrect reporting and damaged investor confidence. Those are symptoms that require immediate action, regardless of the internal control issues.