Method 2: Diagnosing Cause

When trying to remedy a problem, many people jump into action without thinking. They just cannot seem to help it: they want to be “doing” something – anything! In fact, acting without thinking, no matter how unproductive, can become a way of life. Before you act to solve a problem, look for causes. When you find the problem, fix the cause that is most clearly connected to the problem.

When you problem-solve, you are finding the cause of a problem, not analysing a situation, deciding or implementing a plan.
You are problem-solving when:

• You have a deviation from the standard. Something should be happening, but it is not. It was supposed to happen, but it did not. It was not supposed to happen, but it did. All these are deviations from the standard.
• You are uncertain about the cause of the problem. If you already know the cause, then your next step is to decide by selecting the best way to fix the problem.
• You are concerned about the problem. If you see a deviation from the standard and you do not know for sure why it happened, but you are not really concerned about it, you have no problem.