The Problem Tree:
Learn To Map You Tree
An Example
Now that lesson one is complete and you understand principle idea. Let’s take a look at how to complete this exercise in your business. Below is an example of a business. They noticed that profits were down, employees are disgruntled, and it’s hard to hire anyone. Most businesses would think those are the main problems. However, when we dig deeper and start with those issues as merely fruit being produced, we are able to find the real main problem and the root causes that brought about the main problem.
From this example mapping it’s clear to see that the main problem isn’t a decrease in profits or just crummy employees, those are naturally produced fruit caused by the customer complaints. The increased customer complaints are there because of the root causes. Sometimes, you’ll find a root cause that can go 5 layers deep. In this example, we only went two layers deep.
If your organization is struggling with fruit that shouldn’t be there then you need to identify the main problem, the root cause(s) for the main problem, and the solutions to fix the problem from the ground up. In the next lesson, we will give some examples of how to do this and give you a chance to try it on your own.
Your Turn
Alright, it’s your turn to give this a shot. There are a few things to keep in mind.
First, there are no wrong answers. If you see something as an issue, write it down. Don’t feel like it’s too silly to address. As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the bunch.
Second, try to start by listing the problems that you run into on the day to day basis as fruit. Then work your way down the tree. If you ever cut down a large tree, you know that you start with the branches at the top first and work your way down so you don’t get hurt and make a mess. The same applies here.
Third, don’t dig down to China. It’s tempting to want to fix the worlds problems but, that’s not the purpose of this exercise. This is to help your organization. At some point in the root causes, you may be looking at things outside of your control such as global pandemics, government regulations, and such. Those things that you can’t control may be impacting the root causes and there may be solutions such as new suppliers but, don’t list layers and layers of the root causes you can’t think of solutions for.
Interested in learning more about God's remedies for the 16 spirits mentioned in the Bible and how to combat them? We suggest getting a copy of Strongman's His Name, What's His Game, and Strongman...II.
