System life. How to organize life to cope with uncertainty and achieve results without burnout
«Why?» five times at the site of the problem, the original source of the problem was determined, and the solution was found faster. To find the root causes of problems, we will need to ask ourselves this question a lot more than five times, as well as work with cause-and-effect relationships. We are not soulless machines in production, so an important feature of the process is honesty and objectivity to ourselves because you have to admit unpleasant things to yourself.
«A fool who has admitted that he is a fool is no longer a fool at all»
Our task is to postpone emotions, value judgments and accusations. Even in a quote by Dostoevsky, there is no need to cling to the first word. You are not a fool. You are a brave person who is not afraid to admit inaction, mistakes, fears or ignorance. This is the only way to find the cause in cold blood and make sure that it is the root cause. I got acquainted with this method when I came to work as a project manager at red_mad_robot. Every Friday we had a meeting with the team, where we exchanged case statuses and discussed projects. At one of these meetings, I told the status that we do not have time to get the money, since the client cannot sign the documents on time due to a problem on their side. Creative Director Max Desyatykh asked me why. I replied that they had a problem with electronic document management. He asked me again why. I told him more details, and he asked again. These were my first weeks in the company, and inside I was just boiling with anger. I was thinking to myself, why are you bothering me, what are you trying to achieve. I explained to you that they have a problem, and we can’t influence it. But in the real world, I admitted that I couldn’t answer any further, and Max asked me to find out. The next day I went to sort it out, playing a game of whimsy with the client’s manager. It turned out that the problem was with the signatory, he went on vacation. In just one call, the manager found a person with the right to sign, and the documents were signed. I could have done it right away, but I didn’t ask a couple of extra «why» and didn’t make any progress in solving the problem. And the client, no matter how cool he is, does not need to solve other people’s problems. Today I remember this story with a smile and I myself demand from my team to get to the root causes and find out the most complete picture. This helps to look ahead, analyze in more detail and immediately generate solutions on the spot without unnecessary steps. I have tried many root cause analysis methods for myself. With the team, we experimented with different methods in project management. But I use the «Five Why» method most often. It has acquired its own nuances, layers of detail and designations, but the essence remains the same as in the original. Be sure to adopt it in your work, so as not to be like Vasily in the parable below.
Vasily asks his master:
– Why do you pay me 5 cents, and Boris 5 rubles?
The master in response asks Vasily:
– Aren’t they hauling hay away there by any chance?
– I don’t know.
– So go take a look.
Vasily returns and says:
– Yes, hay.
– And from which meadow?
– I don’t know.
– So go ask.
The employee comes again and responds:
– From the Konstantinovsky meadow.
– And what kind of hay mowing, the first or the second?
– I don’t know.
– Go and ask.
Vasily comes back again and says:
– The first mowing.
– And how much do they sell?
– I don’t know.
– Ask, please, – says the master.
Once again, an employee comes and answers the question:
– 5 rubles each.
– Do they bargain?
– I don’t know, – Vasily declares for the umpteenth time.
At this moment Boris enters and says to the master:
– There the hay was brought from the Konstantinovsky meadow, the first mowing. I asked «how much?». They said 5 rubles each. I haggled until 3. Buy and unload it?
The gentleman turns to Vasily and says:
– That’s why I pay you 5 cents, and Boris 5 rubles!
Boris figured out the issue in more detail, gathered information, made decisions, benefited, received money, will buy himself a Mercedes. Vasily limited himself to one question, he only has enough for vape. Vasily needs to sit down and ask himself the question: «Why am I being paid 5 cents?». Then analyze the root causes and identify the root. Having solved it, Vasily will embark on the path to his 5 rubles. Later, he will be able to ask himself the question – «Why do they pay me 5 rubles?» – and walk to his Mercedes. Train the habit of not making decisions based on superficial information, but ask questions to get to the truth.
The task of root cause analysis is to identify the root cause or complement the integrity of the picture by visualizing a model of the problem (phenomenon or desire). The visual model helps to identify cause-and-effect relationships, hidden causes, dependence of causes and root nodes of causes. It is better to use Miro or a similar service to make it easier to edit your scheme. Try to stick to the basic rules:
1. First, the problem or undesirable phenomenon is written down that needs to be resolved is recorded;
2. Then, using the «why» questions, we build a tree of the causes of the problem from top to bottom, while it is possible;
3. Any branch ends with a root cause or an immutable cause;
4. The cause of the problem may be problems of a lower level, which have their own reasons;
5. When you answer the question «why», then try to rely on the facts and indicate the reason for what is written in the rectangle above. Avoid value judgments, emotions, and objects unrelated to the problem;
6. A tree can have many parallel branches, several of the following reasons can come out of one reason;
7. The reasons can be connected by the node «and»/«or». If the causes are connected by the «and» node, then you need to eliminate all the causes included in the problem in order to solve it. If through «or», then only one can be solved;
8. Some reasons may be similar to each other or be the cause of other problems from neighboring branches. Note similar reasons to highlight them in a group of reasons.
The easiest way is to consider the method on a real example. When I worked at the factory, I was not satisfied with my salary. What would the root cause analysis look like: «I have a small salary.»
Example of root cause analysis
The example is vital and simple, but very difficult to analyze. I have repeatedly run through this chain of reasoning in my head when talking about buying my apartment in Donetsk. I ran through, but I didn’t do anything, because it’s very hard to notice and admit to yourself that you don’t know