In lean thinking, we learn fairly quickly that it’s not enough to fix a problem on the surface. We’re taught to dig deeper, to ask “why” again and again — sometimes five times — until we find the root cause, and fix that so the problem doesn’t happen again.
In most cases, this approach works well and brings real results. But there are exceptions — and two situations come up especially often.
Sometimes an organization is dealing with so many issues at once, everything is so tightly connected, and the situation feels so tangled, that every additional round of problem analysis only makes things worse. We end up more and more stuck in the topic, like a kitten tangled up in a ball of yarn.
The more time we spend analyzing, the more hidden issues we uncover. The solution starts to feel more and more hopeless, and we have less and less energy left to actually do something. In these situations, my experience is that the best thing we can do is take a step forward and focus only on solutions.
We can’t deal with low machine efficiency, late deliveries, replacing unsuitable colleagues, disciplinary issues, and another 47 reasons why our customers are unhappy — all at the same time. Instead, it’s worth asking: what can we realistically influence right now, at this very moment? And from those things, which one would bring the biggest step forward on the most important fronts?
Rather than getting stuck in the sense of hopelessness that comes with endless analysis, we should ask a different set of questions: What can we actually start with? What can we do in this situation, right now? What is the first slice of the elephant that we can cut off today?
Small successes, achieved through small steps, are what give us the motivation to keep going and take the next steps after that. One thing is essential: we must not let ourselves sink back into the problem. Again and again, we need to return to the same question: what can I still do?
I’ll admit, I sometimes approach tidying up at home the same way. When the chaos of a busy week reaches a certain level, even the little house elf inside me loses all motivation to start. But I can still do one thing — for example, take one cup to the kitchen. And that might be enough to make me feel like taking out the trash as well.
So when something feels complex, complicated, or simply hopeless, it’s worth turning to this mantra: “What can I still do?”
The same mindset can help in another situation I see quite often. In many organizations, there are overloaded, constantly rushing, or sometimes simply unsuitable leaders whose teams are waiting for direction, solutions, and clear processes — but for one reason or another, they don’t get them.
In these situations, employees usually have two options. They can wait, and talk on every possible forum about how great it would be if their boss finally coordinated with other departments, organized inbound and outbound logistics, and brought some order into the chaos — while they remain stuck in a difficult situation. Or they can think through what they could do. What fits within their decision-making authority? What do they have the capacity for? And what would also be acceptable from their leader’s point of view — because even a little more order can make daily work easier.
For example, if the heads of production and logistics don’t wait for “the big boss” to organize a meeting, but instead start talking to each other on their own, work out a solution, and then get it approved — we’re already moving forward.
Or to use another, very actual example: clearing snow. No matter how many times I say it or write it down that the City Maintenance Department really should have cleared the snow here and there, that alone won’t make it any easier for me to get my car out. What I can do, however, is grab a shovel and clear the critical six square meters myself…
The question is the same here as well: what can I still do in this situation to make things better? The only difference is that now, the way our leader operates also has to be taken into account as one of the parameters.
And there is always a smallest possible step that can be taken.
