– 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 how to do anything. The scheme is branching into two branches: «1» and «2». We immediately discard the «2» branch, since we cannot influence the company. Branch «1» is divided into three more branches: «1.1», «1.2» and «1.3». The «1.2» branch does not give anything. The decision on it is very labor-intensive and long. Branches «1.1» and «1.3» lead us to two main root causes: «No knowledge and experience» and «Fear and self-doubt». The reason «I didn’t do anything to find out» is more indirect. These are more symptoms of fear. Thanks to the analysis behind the first layer of the search for the guilty and justifications for inaction, we see which problems are really important to solve. Moreover, it is clear how to solve them. There are many ways to learn new skills and gain experience. It is more difficult to increase self-esteem and overcome fear, but it is also known how. It is difficult to argue with this and give the brain a chance to explain why it is not necessary to do this. For example, I did not take into account all possible branches, but left only the most important. In real analysis, there can be very huge schemes with a large number of branches, which allows you to consider all the causes and highlight the connections.
Above, I briefly outlined what the method is. If you have never done such an analysis before, then watch the video or read articles on the Internet. There are many detailed explanations and examples on the web. The method is quite easy to learn, and anyone will figure it out without any problems. To analyze my situations, I use the RCA+ (Root Conflict Analysis) method, which was developed by Valery Sushkov. He is one of the developers of the tools of modern TIPS (Theory of inventive problem solving) and the Technology of Systemic Innovative Thinking, as well as the co – founder of the European TIPS Association and the International Business TIPS Association. This method also builds a tree of reasons, but the principle of operation is significantly different from the «Five Why» method. I was lucky to get on a course with Valery Sushkov. There I learned about his method and immediately started using it. If the «Five Whys» is too simple for you or does not work to find root causes, then search the web for information about RCA+ or Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints. It is better to watch the video and practice right away, since it is very difficult to explain them in text. But this is already an advanced level for solving complex problems in business. «Five Whys» will be enough for you.
The task of the last section on analysis is to convey to everyone that root cause analysis is a mandatory step for all types of problems. Always get to the root cause. This way you will be able to deal with real problems, not with symptoms. You will be able to focus your efforts by spending less resources. The questions «why» and «what for» are among the most important ones in life. They embody a meaningful approach to life. These questions can be used not only to find reasons, but also to make informed decisions, filter desires and maintain motivation. We’ll talk about this further. Take the analysis very seriously, do not neglect it. The brain will always come up with an explanation for any phenomenon, will try to save resources and lead you according to an understandable scenario. Culture, people and lack of time – everything works against the process of recognizing the root causes. Root cause analysis is your protective shield against interference and a companion of system life. It all starts with him, and then he will come in handy more than once. Where else will you find such a powerful free tool that produces clarity for you and saves resources.
Outcome
Einstein was once asked how he would spend an hour of his time solving a very difficult problem. He replied that he would spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes solving it. There’s no reason not to trust Albert. Any actions or decisions should start with analysis. This will protect you from premature anxiety, wrong decisions and unnecessary actions. Regularly stop the flow of information and urgent matters, as Neo stopped the bullets at the end of the first «Matrix». Do an analysis of the current situation in order to unload the mind, make a revision of life and load back only the most important.
«Reason is the ability of expedient action as a result of objective analysis»
V.E. Mikhaltsev
Update the resources you have, understand what barriers and problems prevent you from getting what you want. The strategy and speed of your movement towards changes and goals depends on this. Analysis is the foundation for the shortest path to the goal. It is important to understand the comfortable state of all spheres of life, your strengths and weaknesses. Meaningfully feel motivated and strengthen the growth mindset. Your environment should promote development and positively influence all spheres of life. And most importantly, you need to know the true causes of your problems and results. Highlight problem areas and find root problems. Most of the problems you can’t solve because you don’t want to or don’t know how. If you are reading a book, then everything is «OK» with the desire. Now you only need to get the necessary knowledge and try it out. If you understand in detail the problems and causes of the current situation, then a solution may arise already at the analysis stage. The problem may not be a problem at all, or there will be no need to solve it. Remember, everyone in the world is against you stopping and figuring everything out. The swift current will always carry you forward, so that you do not have time and energy for this. It’s hard to resist, but it’s possible. This requires a systematic approach, where analysis plays a fundamental role. Conscious life and development are impossible without it.
Chapter 2. Planning
Prologue
Everyone has their own plan until they get hit in the jaw. Then many people, like rats, stop and freeze
Mike Tyson
In the first chapter, we analyzed what we have to start moving. In the second chapter, let’s move on to where and how to start moving? To figure this out, you need a planning process. Today it is fashionable to hide behind the VUCA-world, so as not to plan. There are no guarantees anyway, and no one knows what will happen. Therefore, there is no point in planning. Yes, no one knows what will happen. Before Tyson, Field Marshal Moltke said that in a battle, the battle plan is the first one to die. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to plan. It is better to start moving according to the plan and deviate than to start moving at random. No matter how scary the VUCA world is, no one bothers to make a plan for a year, quarter, week or day. It all depends on your ability to adapt in the first collision of the plan and reality. The shorter the planning period, the more likely it is that the plan will come to fruition. Because there is more clarity. But at the same time, the shorter the planning period, the more negligent we treat it. We are sure that we will solve everything quickly on the go, and it’s not worth bothering. Has it ever happened to you when you woke up on your day off and didn’t know what to do? Why is this happening? You knew it would be a day off, so have a rest. But you haven’t planned what you’re going to do. As a result, you need to strain yourself, come up with leisure and sort out options. Usually, you end up watching TV series and whining that you didn’t do anything over the weekend. Then a working week starts, and everything looks like a circle that never ends. Most people are busy doing things, not implementing plans. They just don’t have time to stop and ask themselves the question: why am I doing this? What goal does this bring me closer to or what problem does it solve? Because there is no clear goal and plan to achieve it. And when it is not clear what to do, the brain suggests doing what is clear and simple. Many will say they have a plan. It’s in the head, and they follow it. They can even list out loud: «And this must be done, and this …". If you ask them, «Why? What is the deadline and the output result?», they have nothing to answer. Planning is not thinking what you want to do, it is part of a system of self-organization in the form of specific processes. It is very important to learn how to transform a strategy into a process, and a process into a description of specific work actions. Without this, you can only do harm and accelerate the squirrel in the wheel to the speed of light. Fasten your seat belts. We are starting a chapter that will upgrade your knowledge about goal setting and planning.
There are no guarantees
Before planning, you need to take vitamins for thinking in the form of the text below. So that the update of the growth mindset accelerates and gets deep into your mind. Reading about the VUCA world, we seem to understand that there is uncertainty, and this is the norm, but we do not consciously accept it. Because certainty is a drug for our brain, and it’s not easy to do without it. We want to be sure that our company will not be closed during the pandemic, the working meeting will go well, the bank will not go bankrupt, the developer will not disappear, there will be a guarantee of work, we will have enough money to survive the crisis and so on and so forth. We want everything to be clear, stable, predictable. We want to organize everything, get guarantees, insure ourselves, avoid difficulties. We cannot stand uncertainty, and we begin to break down when it is unclear what will happen next. So strong that it is impossible to tolerate it, and we start having anxiety. Research has proven that we tolerate pain more easily than uncertainty, because pain is understandable to us. For example, the uncertainty that everything is going well at work has a worse effect on health than dismissal. No one is to blame for this. This is how our brain works. Look at the SCARF social behavior model (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness), which was developed by David Rock. It explains the five main goals that our brain perceives as critically important:
1. Status – a sense of respect caused by a position in the hierarchy;
2. Certainty – the ability to predict the consequences;
3. Autonomy – a sense of control over what is happening;
4. Relatedness – a sense of security next to others;
5. Fairness – the perception of a fair exchange.
Everything is quite logical. With the help of these goals, our brain fulfills the well-known instinct of self-preservation. From the second point it is clear that the brain wants confidence, and considers all the unknown stuff to be dangerous. It must know what any action will lead to, and will do everything to avoid uncertainty. But there is no certainty! If it were, we could say with 100% certainty that the ruble would not devalue, there would be no self-isolation, a war would not start, a meteorite would not fall to the Earth, etc. We try to make predictions, but there is no certainty anymore. If there had been, then 10 years ago you could have said: «I want to be the manager of a virtual influencer on a social network,» but no one could have imagined that such a thing could be. And no amount of forecasting would help to predict it. No matter how much we strive for certainty, we will never be able to get it. The brain wants what it doesn’t have. Yep, what a paradox. Think for yourself, there is no certainty in anything. Anything can happen, anytime. This has not been news for a long time. Nassim Taleb wrote everything in his books a long time ago. But the task of learning to accept uncertainty is still very relevant.
What to do with uncertainty?
First you need to change your worldview about the future, uncertainty and problems.
1. There is no image of the future anymore. The future has trends, but it is impossible to predict the future just by analyzing them. My wife’s uncle once said: «When we lived in the USSR, everything was clear. It’s like you’re flying slowly and steadily on a spaceship, but it’s clear where you are heading. And now you’re flying on the same ship, but 100 times faster, and meteorites are flying at you. And you only can try to dodge them.» Then there was no certainty either, but there was too little speed to notice it. Today, the speed of the world is regularly increasing and can make a leap in a day. If you are asked at an interview, «who do you see yourself in 5 years?», then you need to leave it or answer with a fictional profession. Let them prove that there will be no such thing in 5 years. Today life is like running in a fog. You can see it up close, but not further than 5 meters ahead. Like a map of the area in a computer game – it opens further when you come to its border.
2. We need to accept the uncertainty. Such a decision will give you the strength to make changes. When you stop looking for certainty in everything, there will be less stress. Most problems arise because you are trying to predict the future. Any prediction is stressful. A forecast describes events that may or may not occur. You can’t guarantee to influence it, but you try to find certainty and worry that you don’t find it. The forecast is your thoughts, as it may be, and the plan is what you will do at certain events. Only now we need to learn how to plan in the fog. To do this, you have 5 meters of visibility. Hang a sticker or poster at home «I accept uncertainty» and start slowly getting used to it. It will be a long way, but without accepting uncertainty, nothing new will happen.
3. There are no problems. There are only situations and your attitude to them. For example, people don’t want to make you feel bad, they do everything to make them feel good. It turns out their «good» can be «bad» for you. Why do people quarrel? Because they have different views on the same situations. For one it is a problem, but for the other it is not. Of course, tragedies happen in life, and everything is pretty clear here. But time does not stop. You also need to be able to relate to them and experience them correctly. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a situation, and you have your own attitude to it. Animals have no consciousness and no problems. They are not able to give events such a characteristic as «problem». A crow on the branch is not sad that a raven does not approach her, and she is lonely. She doesn’t croak to everyone around that she has problems in her personal life. Only people call dissatisfaction with the situation or mismatch of expectations a problem. All the problems come from the fact that life has become too simple and safe. Now you don’t have to worry about being eaten by a lion or dying of cold in a cave. The brain is sharpened by evolution to search for risks and anxiety, but our life does not give it reasons. Therefore, the brain finds them in any situation, worries, and we call it problems. We avoid them and are afraid. Moreover, they so simply allow us to justify inaction or harmful decisions. Do not perceive problems as an evil force from the outside that prevents you from living. Replace the word «problem» with «undesirable situation» and make it a rule: «A task should be formulated from any undesirable situation.» Then solve it or use analysis to figure out why it can’t be done.
«Never explain with malicious intent
what can easily be explained by stupidity»
Hanlon’s Razor
Dependence on certainty can have very bad consequences. If everything is clear in advance, then what will be the motive to develop? When you become financially independent, you become more confident. The future begins to seem certain. This is especially dangerous for those who do not understand their true desires. For them, the comfort zone becomes a breeding ground for degradation. It will be everything, but it will be boring. Like in the joke about the new Russian, who called Christmas tree toys defective. Because they hung beautifully on the Christmas tree and did not, please him. When there is no uncertainty in achieving goals, ambitions gradually disappear. There are tribes of Indians who change their place of residence every two years. Thus, they give the soil a rest, and new locations require new skills and achievements from them to ensure their lives. They did not read books about self-development and did not undergo growth training. They noticed that there is a threat to development in the certainty and comfort zone. They realized that if a person does not learn to cope with difficulties, then he will break down at the first difficult situation, and such times will surely come in every person’s life.
Uncertainty is the beginning of everything new. A place where something happens. Your personal environment for new opportunities in which you grow and gain new experiences. If you do what you know, you don’t move forward. How can you get something new if you act in the old way? Everything new is a risk, and risk is the reverse side of new opportunities and changes. Don’t be afraid of uncertainty, it’s a part of life, and it won’t be any other way. Learn to enjoy uncertainty and notice that you will become happier. In short, you have no choice. Take the time to prepare to realize this and accept the uncertainty. You can wait for certainty and never start, constantly procrastinate and be afraid. Or you can take the first step and competently start moving forward, crushing the uncertainty. The main thing is to understand: while you are thinking, time is passing. It’s not waiting for you. Each of us has minus one day on the counter every day. It is in our best interests to solve it faster: stand still or do something, despite the uncertainty. I’m not saying it will be too late later. I say that you can start enjoying your life to the fullest earlier and do it longer.
