User Experience: constraints, performance, utility, outcomes
Supplier Experience: performance, threats, opportunity, potential
What doesn’t work is causing trouble
Trouble is effect – Problems are cause
Trouble severity is characterized by emotion
Problem definition is characterized by gaps
Root cause problem solving distinguishes between treating effects and eliminating causes—a distinction that separates teams that fight recurring fires from teams that prevent fires from starting. Understanding this difference transforms how organizations approach persistent challenges.
The Recurring Problem Pattern
We’ve all seen teams frantically trying to fix problems that keep coming back. They’re working harder than ever, but the same issues resurface again and again.
This is the indicator that teams are treating effects instead of causes.
Understanding Trouble Versus Problems
When users experience constraints, performance issues, poor utility, or disappointing outcomes, that’s trouble—the visible symptoms everyone feels.
When suppliers face performance pressures, competitive threats, missed opportunities, or unrealized potential, that’s also trouble affecting the business.
But trouble is always the effect of a deeper issue. The real problems are the root causes creating all that trouble.
Emotions tell us how severe the trouble feels. Gaps tell us what’s actually broken and the problems worth solving that need fixing.
Toyota’s Root Cause Problem Solving Revolution
Think about how Toyota revolutionized manufacturing quality through systematic root cause problem solving.
Other car companies were busy fixing defects as they found them on the production line—treating each symptom as it appeared.
Toyota asked a different question: “What gaps in our process are causing these defects in the first place?”
They developed the “5 Whys” technique to trace every problem back to its root cause. Instead of just fixing broken parts, they fixed the systems that created broken parts.
The result was cars that rarely broke down because the causes of breakdowns were eliminated upfront, not after problems occurred.
The Critical Distinction
Most teams focus on reducing the emotional intensity of things going wrong—making people feel better about recurring problems.
Smart teams practicing root cause problem solving focus on closing the gaps that create problems in the first place—eliminating the source of trouble.
Our sensemaking framework helps organizations diagnose what’s not working and why, moving from symptom treatment to cause elimination.
The Question That Changes Everything
When your team encounters recurring issues, are you asking “How do we address this issue?” or “How do we eliminate the gap that is causing this to happen?”
The first question treats effects. The second question solves problems.
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