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Understanding the Real Issue using Root Cause Analysis
Too often people, including Consultants, spend time trying to solve the wrong problem due to having incomplete or incorrect information. Once, I was investigating a series of performance problems and unplanned outages that were assumed to be two separate problems. As I gathered information, several people shared anecdotal stories of anomalous behaviors in various systems, speculated about the “real problem,” and discussed “chasing ghosts” during previous attempts to resolve it.
I remember stating that I was there to solve a real problem that was seriously impacting production, and that it was not my intent to chase ghosts or do anything else that would unnecessarily waste time. Next, I outlined the approach I would use to make a Root Cause determination and that we would reconvene to discuss the real problem and potential solutions. A few people scoffed and felt this was a waste of time and money.
The process followed was simple, structured, and logical. It took everything we knew to be true and mapped it out. I looked for patterns, commonalities, and intersections of systems and events. Within two days, my team and I had identified a complex root cause involving multiple components, which we demonstrated would reliably reproduce the symptoms that our client was experiencing. From there, we worked with their teams to make minor network changes, system configuration changes, and several small application changes.
By the end of the second week, they were no longer experiencing major slowdowns or unplanned outages. Each outage cost the company tens of thousands of dollars in lost sales because of the time-sensitive nature of their product. Within one week, they had recovered the cost of hiring my team and me. What stuck with us was how many really smart people “believed in ghosts” and failed to focus on the information they already had.
A few years later, we created a white paper to help others who needed a simple, structured approach. Below is a link to that white paper written by one of the top people on my team. We received very positive feedback then, so it still seems useful today. Please take a look and let me know what you think.
Using Themes for Enhanced Problem Solving
Thematic Analysis is a powerful qualitative approach used by many consultants. It involves identifying patterns and themes to better understand how and why something happened, providing context for other quantitative analyses. It can also be used when developing strategies and tactics because of its “cause and effect” nature.
Typical analysis tends to be event-based. Something happened that was unexpected. Some type of triggering or compelling event is sought to either stop something from happening or to make something happen. With enough of the right data, you may be able to identify patterns that help predict what will happen next based on past events. This data-based understanding may be simplistic or incomplete, but often it is sufficient.
But people are creatures of habit. If you can identify and understand those habits and place them within the context of a specific environment that includes interactions with others, you may be able to identify patterns within the patterns. Those themes can be much better indicators of what may or may not happen than the data itself. They become better predictors of things to come and can help identify more effective strategies and tactics to achieve your goals.
This approach requires that a person view an event (desired or historical) from various perspectives to help understand:
- Things that are accidental but predictable because of human nature.
- Things that are predictable based on other events and interactions.
- Things that are the logical consequence of a series of events and outcomes.
Aside from the practical implications of this approach, I find it fascinating relative to AI and Predictive Analysis.
For example, you can proactively monitor data, activities, and patterns by understanding recurring themes and triggers. That provides actionable intelligence that can be automated and incorporated into a larger system. Machine Learning and Deep Learning can analyze tremendous volumes of data from various sources in real-time.
Combine that with Semantic Analysis (and products like AllegroGraph) to harness the power of language through taxonomies and ontologies. The monitoring system would better understand what is happening (not just be aware of it), possibly determine how and why it happened, and result in even more focused and accurate predictions. Finally, include spatial and temporal data such as IoT, metadata from photographs, etc., and you should be able to view something as though you were very high up – providing the ability to “see” what is on the path ahead. It is obviously not that simple, but it is exciting.
This approach provides a multi-dimensional view of events and their causality, giving you the means to identify and prevent complex problems before they negatively affect a business.
Keeping these thoughts in mind will help you see details others have missed. Better tools can make for better analysis, better strategies, and better outcomes. Who wouldn’t want that?
Sales Success for the Individual Contributor
Let’s start with two of my favorite personal quotes:
“Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity.” – Seneca, Roman Philosopher.
“Become the person who would attract the results you seek.” – Jim Cathcart, Author of “Relationship Selling”
Why are those quotes important? Because they point out that you are responsible for your own success.
Great companies with great products or services and great management teams make it much easier to be successful, but anyone who is prepared, curious, focused, motivated, and has a system they follow can succeed anywhere.
My experience has shown the following to be true:
- You are unlikely to succeed without preparation and understanding of your prospects, their customers, and their competition. This understanding provides the foundation for asking relevant questions to understand the real need and effectively qualify a deal in or out.
- Most sales occur because a Product or Service solves real and immediate business problems or ties into strategic business initiatives.
- Your early goals should be to get the meeting, have real discussions, understand problems from your prospect’s perspective (including the terminology they use to describe those problems), and help them describe what success “looks like to them” and why that matters (logically and emotionally). At this stage, you are learning and positioning, not selling.
- Deal qualification is an essential skill that lets you focus your time and effort where you are most likely to succeed. The faster you can “qualify out” a prospect that is not a good fit, the better it is for you and that prospect. Eternal optimism is not a plan for filling your pipeline.
- If you have a supporting team, ensure that everyone understands the situation, their role and contribution to success, and what you want them to focus on. Never assume that things will just fall into place on their own.
- Have a repeatable process to track activities, measure progress, and identify the best next steps. Remember, “To measure is to know.” (Lord Kelvin)
- The sale is not over until your new Customer is happy. Become their internal advocate within your organization, and you will earn the customer’s trust, loyalty, and repeat business.
Ideally, your Sales Leadership Team has defined a Sales Strategy and created a couple of repeatable Sales Plays and compelling supporting materials such as Success Stories, Case Studies, ROI and TCO charts, brief but targeted Demos, and realistic Product Comparison information for internal use. These become the foundation for repeatable and scalable success.
But if that is missing, collaborate with your peers, seek guidance from your leadership, and get creative. Remember, you are ultimately responsible for your success, so don’t allow things to become excuses or a crutch. In the words of the Buddha, “There are three solutions to every problem: Accept it, Change it, or Leave it.”
To help ensure success, you will need to follow a Sales Methodology. Here is a link to a good high-level overview from Spotio.com. I’ve used several, and each has pros and cons. None of them effectively addresses the successful progression from:
- Initiation, Understanding, and Qualification.
- Defining a compelling Solution and successfully positioning it against the competition.
- Closing the Sale is an area in which many salespeople fall short.
The sales methodology that I personally believe is one of the easiest to use and most effective is MEDDIC. It is a Deal Qualification process, which is more encompassing than a simple Lead Qualification approach. The biggest blind spot is that it fails to address these four key areas:
- Influencers within a buyer’s organization. Knowing who these people are and what their biases are will let you direct resources to each and, ideally, take a multi-threaded approach for each deal.
- Incumbents and the sentiment towards those vendors and their products. This is key to avoiding wasted time on an opportunity you’re unlikely to win.
- Related/Adjacent needs. Tying success to multiple areas provides leverage and increases the value of your solution.
- Timeline/Urgency. This allows you to work backward from milestone dates for efforts like typical lead times for Legal and Purchasing, Integration Testing, QA/QC, Training and Documentation, etc.
Being prepared, creating a common vision of success based on the outcome rather than the approach, being responsive, and developing relationships and trust based on knowledge and a desire to help are easy ways to differentiate yourself from many lesser salespeople. Invest in your skills, set aggressive goals, and always hold yourself accountable for success.
Do this, and you will become part of the 20% of any sales team that ‘moves the dial.’
Presentation about Starting a Business and Entrepreneurship
It is interesting how often you see ads for franchise offerings that tout, “Become your own boss.” While that may not be all bad, it is just the tip of the iceberg. The presentation below is intended to provide insight to people considering starting their first company. This was from a one-hour presentation that glosses over many things, such as the need for registrations and insurance, but it could be helpful for a first-timer.
One of the first and most important lessons I learned when I started my consulting company long ago was that paying attention to cash flow was far more important than focusing on my balance sheet. Once you understand a problem, it becomes easy to change what you do to manage it. For example, using fixed pricing based on tasks where we received 50% up-front and the remaining 50% upon acceptance of the deliverable smoothed out cash flow, which was a big help.
So, take a look and post any questions that you may have. If one person has a question, many more will likely do as well! Cheers.
Perspective and Expectations Establish Your Starting Point
We may have seen the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now I am seeing more and more articles about the “New Normal” and “Next Normal.” Interestingly enough, I have also been seeing a few articles over the past two weeks about this being an opportunity. Once the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (aka “FUD”) began to diminish, people finally started looking for a silver lining.
Fear is a powerful demotivator, so I find it interesting that some managers and executives use it to help achieve their goals. There may be short-term gains, but the long-term effects can be devastating. In times of chaos (real or perceived), one of the best things a leader can do is be genuine and concerned for their team’s welfare, communicate honestly and promptly, and display confidence to help shift emotions from a negative state to a positive one. Fear holds you and your team back.
What I find interesting is that two months ago, I posted about this unfortunate time being an opportunity – something that led to several negative comments at the time. Three weeks ago, I posted about changes coming as part of the “New Normal.” I believe this is simply insight coming into play, which is one reason why Consultants, great Salespeople, and new Executives can often add immediate value to an organization.
As an aside, diversity of backgrounds, experiences, knowledge, expertise, and opinions leads to various perspectives- fostering creativity. The best team-building practice is finding people whose strengths help cover your weaknesses.
So, perspective and expectations determine where you begin, not where you end. The benefit of a better starting point is that you’re in a much better position to win. The best part is that you can teach yourself to identify different perspectives. You may find it much easier to understand the big picture of whatever problem you face with that new skill.
From time to time, we all face situations we know will suck. Avoidance may be an option, but it usually isn’t the best option. The military has a saying, “Embrace the Suck,” that essentially boils down to “just deal with it.” Focusing on “the gain” (rather than “the suck”), identifying small wins along the way, and visualizing success is part of the process I’ve found helpful for maintaining a positive attitude and an open mind. This simple process helps balance optimism with realism and, most importantly, creates high expectations.
So, what are your thoughts? Do you want to lead or follow? There is nothing wrong with following, especially when contributing to the team’s success. Perspective and Expectations are two tools that can help in any role.
Where Ideas, Experiences, and Lessons Learned Intersect 