Problem is cause – Trouble is effect
You don’t directly experience a problem
You can only experience the trouble
Solving problems requires understanding the cause
Working backwards from effect to cause
Finding cause leads to diagnosing problems
Diagnosing business problems requires distinguishing between symptoms you experience and root causes you must solve—a critical skill that separates effective leaders from those who perpetually fight the same fires. Understanding this distinction transforms how organizations approach persistent challenges.
Why Most Solutions Fail
We spend all our time fighting symptoms. But symptoms aren’t the real enemy.
The trouble you’re experiencing right now isn’t actually the problem—it’s just the effect of something deeper that requires proper diagnosis.
You can’t directly touch or fix a root cause problem. You can only feel its impact through the trouble it creates.
This is why so many solutions fail: we attack what we can see and feel, not what’s actually broken.
The Backwards Path to Solutions
The real work of diagnosing business problems happens when you trace backwards from the pain—from the trouble you’re experiencing to the hidden cause creating it.
Our sensemaking framework provides the systematic methodology for this backwards journey, moving from visible effects to underlying causes.
Hospital Emergency Rooms: Masters of Diagnosis
Think about how hospital emergency rooms approach diagnosing problems.
A patient comes in with chest pain—that’s the trouble they’re experiencing, the symptom demanding immediate attention.
But the doctors don’t just treat the pain with medication and send the patient home.
They run tests to find the underlying cause. Could be a heart attack, anxiety, or acid reflux. Same symptom, completely different root problems requiring completely different solutions.
Treating chest pain without diagnosis could be fatal if the cause is a heart attack. The symptom tells you something’s wrong; the diagnosis tells you what to fix.
How Businesses Get Diagnosing Business Problems Wrong
Most businesses do the opposite of emergency rooms.
They see declining sales (the symptom) and immediately focus on marketing (treating the pain).
But effective diagnosing business problems reveals the real cause might be product availability, product quality, customer service failures, or market positioning issues.
Increasing marketing spend when the actual problem is product quality doesn’t solve anything—it just makes more people aware of your quality problem.
When you find the true cause through systematic diagnosis, the right solution becomes obvious. Without diagnosis, you’re guessing at solutions and wondering why they don’t work.
The Systematic Approach
Diagnosing business problems follows a clear pattern:
- Identify the trouble you’re experiencing (the symptoms)
- Trace backwards to find what’s causing those symptoms
- Diagnose the root problem creating the trouble
- Design solutions that address the actual cause, not just the effect
This is what our problems worth solving methodology accomplishes—systematic diagnosis that reveals which problems actually warrant your innovation investment.
The Question That Reveals Hidden Causes
What trouble are you experiencing right now that might actually be pointing to a deeper problem requiring systematic diagnosis?
Are you treating the symptom, or have you diagnosed the cause?
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