Seeing Beyond the Symptom
Five questions for the moment before you act.
Most fixes work. That's what makes them tricky. The benefit shows up fast and obvious; the cost shows up slowly, somewhere else, wearing a different face.
Seeing Beyond the Symptom is a one-page field note: five questions to run in the moment before you commit to a fix - a short pause that helps you look one move further than the problem in front of you. It's the companion to our article on why the most reasonable solutions so often become next year's problem.
Keep it to hand for the next decision that feels urgent. Two questions for what's in front of you, three for what lies beyond it - and a reminder that the point isn't to stop acting, but to know whether you've reached for a fix or a cure.
What you'll learn
- Symptom or cause? - are you treating what you can see, or the cause generating it?
- And then what? - what could this set in motion that you're not yet looking at?
- Where does the pressure go? - it moves rather than disappears; who inherits it?
- What was the problem telling us? - what signal do you lose by quieting it?
- What does this reward? - what behaviour does the fix actually pay for?
Want to explore these ideas together?
Whether you're navigating a merger, rethinking how you're structured, or trying to shift a culture that isn't working - start with a conversation.