Eating the Elephant

Using structured problem solving to address complex problems – “one spoonful at a time”.
 
At Sologic we often get asked the following question,
 
‘So, can the Sologic Root Cause Analysis process be used to create and develop plans that help us address strategic problems?’
 
The answer to this question is a resounding ‘Yes’!
 
I think the key point to address is that Sologic Root Cause Analysis is exactly that, an Analysis Tool. Sologic RCA is a structured analysis process that enables people to work together productively and to break down complex problems which include strategic issues. Its outputs will assist in the development of an Action Plan which will address short, medium and long-term goals.
 
As an example of this, I have recently worked with a client to examine how they can reduce and control spending across their business.
 
To achieve this, they selected and brought together a cross-organisational team of 14 people over the course of 2 full-day sessions. Using the Sologic RCA process we utilised the knowledge and experience of the team to:
 

• Determine and define the exact issue that they wanted to tackle, to achieve a clear and commonly owned understanding of where the analysis should begin
• Identify the genuine impact that this issue is having on the organisation and the realistic risks that not addressing this issue carries
• Work systematically to identify and capture the complete range of causes (from across all areas of the organisation); building a visual chart that shows the interrelation of cause and effect.
• Systematically ‘mine’ this chart to seek potential solutions and opportunities
• Use specific criteria to evaluate and record those solutions that have value – these included ‘some quick wins’, as well as solutions and mitigations that can be built into their overarching longer term Action Plan
• Identify further specific tasks and projects to develop greater understanding, the results of which in turn could be added to future analysis and planning

• Firstly, that this was an incredibly enjoyable two days!
• That those people who joined us on only Day Two were rapidly able to assimilate the analysis through our rapid review of the chart and work on Day One – and thus became active and engaged in the work on Day Two
• That they were surprised how the process provided such valuable detail and granular understanding of the issue
• That even when they were already aware of some of the factors at play, the process pinned these down and ensured that they were productively reflected on before moving forward
• That as they were building the analysis/charting they became aware of new ideas that could be applied as possible actions – thus the process flowed seamlessly
• That they got a much greater understanding of what was happening across the wider organisation and how issues in different sectors of the organisation impacted on one another
• That the analysis and arriving at planned actions felt collaborative
• That the time on both days had flown by!

• The team had worked solidly and productively over two days
• This had led to visible and tangible outputs
• This physical and visible output had actually aided in the engagement and motivation of the team as they worked their way through the process
• The sponsor had wanted the issue to feel like a shared issue, as opposed to just one department’s problem, and this had very definitely been achieved
• With their new understanding they had a clear way forward to build an Action Plan that would not only include short, medium and long-term mitigations but also point towards further potential projects
• The sponsor had wanted to see how the process would work as a strategic tool (with the view that they could deploy this more widely throughout the organisation) and on conclusion felt that the adoption of this approach could be used to fundamentally change the organisational culture.