---
title: "Problem Solving: Identify the Real Problem"
artifact: "highlights"
resource_person: "Uma Oza, with Anurima Chatterjee"
resource_person_role: "Uma Oza is Director, Quality at the Competitiveness Mindset Institute (CMI); Anurima Chatterjee is listed by CMI among its trainers and facilitators."
vertical: "careers"
module: "Career Progression"
lesson: "Problem Solving: Identify the Real Problem"
lesson_key: "problem-solving-identify-the-real-problem"
source: "GuruSetu original"
source_channel: "GuruSetu"
---
# Problem Solving: Identify the Real Problem: Highlights

**Resource person:** Uma Oza, with Anurima Chatterjee - Uma Oza is Director, Quality at the Competitiveness Mindset Institute (CMI); Anurima Chatterjee is listed by CMI among its trainers and facilitators.

1. Treat the first visible difficulty as a starting point and test whether a deeper problem is driving it.
2. Use Five Whys to move from a complaint or event towards its underlying cause.
3. In reverse brainstorming, list ways to make the problem worse and then invert each idea.
4. For the clinic, bad ideas become practical changes to appointments, seating, calls and waiting-room access.
5. Ownership can involve coordinating everyone whose work is needed to deliver the outcome.
6. Taking responsibility keeps more options for action in view.
7. Check the purpose behind a task. In the example, food service is meant to create hospitality.