Understanding cause and effect in a specific context for problem-solving takes deep analysis and critical thinking.
The problems usually have many causes and can be very complex, you can't figure out the exact cause and effect so the solutions are vague. What are the best techniques to diagnose the causes and solve problems effectively?
Leverage the “5 WHYs” technique to develop a suitable action: Usually cause-effect is tricky because there are multitudes of causes and multitudes of effects which only become apparent as the observer changes how they describe the organizations, structures, elements, environments, etc. A single thread of “WHY” questions are sometimes called a WHY STAIRCASE or 5WHYs, defining the CAUSE and EFFECT relationships that allow you to uncover the deeper causes. If using cause and effect logic to help distinguish between symptom and cause when evaluating activities within a system, you are able to draw from the results both the outcomes and causes of the system.
“5 WHYs” technique is not just a solo exercise, but a team effort. When the problem happens, the team needs to complement each other’s cognitive differences, and dig into the root causes by asking why and clarify the causes at every stage. The management is confident as they have applied sufficient rigor in the analysis, applying the WHY staircase technique many times over, using a structured methodology that allows them to capture and analyze the results. After tracing down the root cause, they can leverage the limited resources, make the choice to take actions for fixing them. These actions should be proposed and discussed with the team. Is this the best action? Will the same cause likely happen again? Are there better solutions available? Very few root causes and similarly a limited number of outcomes reveal themselves when this work is conducted properly.
Understand nonlinear cause and effect relationships and models: Problem-solving today is complex. It becomes complex if things do interact, particularly in the case of nonlinear interconnection and interactions. You can't separate things properly or you cannot predict the actual effect of interactions straightforwardly. The cause-effect may be seen as yet another cause. It’s not so effective to use linear logic to understand highly complex, nonlinear cause-effect relationship scenarios to solve complex business problems. Focus on nonlinear rather than just linear cause-effect.
Because of interconnectivity and the many potential options in a complex system, sometimes a small effect in one place can cause a cascade of events that produce a nonlinear impact. The predictive “cause and effect” in business dynamics can include nonlinear cause and effect models, and develop nonlinear business problem-solving scenarios. Also, establishing the cause-effect relationships between key performance indicators is an important outcome of developing the strategy map, and improving performance management effectiveness.
Apply critical thinking and leveraging effective analysis tools to help analyze cause-effect relationships: Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is an elegant and “simple to use” tool for diagnosing cause effect relationships. Barrier Analysis - Perform a barrier analysis, not only identifying all the barriers that had to have failed in order for the event to take place, but also helping to uncover programmatic areas to be probed further. In addition to the use of any other causal analysis methodology, listen to a wide range of opinions and multidimensional viewpoints in order to make sound judgments based on unbiased fact, make a deep analysis, take the identification of the facts and root cause and mold into a solution based on the objectives and other extenuating circumstances
True critical thinkers are able to see things underneath and around the corner, perceive the invisible, catch “implicit” elements, recognize connections and interdependencies, have an in-depth understanding of cause and effect. After observing events and patterns, there are underlying structures, mechanisms that cause the problem. And people who lack critical thinking usually never question because "it's the way things should be." To truly fix the problems and optimize organizational performance, you need to put additional effort to do extrapolation and find the purpose. Cause-Effect analysis anticipates purpose but not until the system is actualized, can you really observe manifest purpose.
In the “VUCA” new normal, there isn’t always a right or wrong choice in any situation. Understanding cause and effect in a specific context for problem-solving takes deep analysis and critical thinking. Listen to multiple perspectives, be sensitive to the emergent factors, close a multitude of gaps, and take care of not just one problem, but the chain of problems smoothly.
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