FLY: Problem Solving

Find the cause before choosing a fix

Uma Oza and Anurima Chatterjee begin with jugaad. A quick improvisation can be useful in a crisis. It often stops at the visible symptom. Durable problem solving traces the underlying condition. Their example is simple: balm may ease a headache. High blood pressure requires its own treatment. A temporary workaround becomes a problem when it replaces diagnosis.

The main tool is the Five Whys. State the problem clearly and ask why it happens. Treat the answer as the next problem and ask again. Use five as a guide, and stop when you reach a cause that is credible, specific and possible to act on. As the speakers note, naming the real problem often makes much of the solution visible.

Two examples show what this looks like. Apparent resistance to a new expense system can arise because the system asks for item-level details that receipts often omit. A chain of questions about absenteeism can lead to disengagement, lecture-dominated teaching and too little active learning or feedback. In both cases, the inquiry finds a condition that can be changed and moves the discussion away from personal blame.

The method needs evidence and patience. Check the first plausible answer against evidence. Keep the exercise focused on causes and corrective action. Causes can branch, so check assumptions with the people and information involved. Once you choose an intervention, test whether it actually changes the problem.

Try the method on a real issue. Later FLY material takes the next steps: generating possible solutions and taking responsibility for carrying one forward.