Three ways to step back and see the big picture

Think fast: What’s the number one rule of troubleshooting? Get to root cause.

It’s the foundation principle drilled into every problem solver:  Find the underlying cause for a problem—not just a symptom or contributing issue – then fix it.

But what if – what if to root cause and fixing it is the exact opposite of what you should do? What if it narrows your focus too much and you don’t see the bigger picture?

And worse. What if this isn’t just an operational or technical problem? What if this troubleshooting mindset is a bigger business issue and slowing down growth?

If you think you always have to get to root cause—think again.

That’s what Rachel thought as she dealt with a huge out-of-stock problem. She was the VP of Operations for a popular Beauty brand. Her team had just navigated out of a near-disastrous packaging situation: all inbound primary packaging got stuck for 3 months, affecting not one, not 10, but all 150 skus across the portfolio.

When the packaging arrived, the factory had a bad restart and couldn’t keep up with backorders. So instead of getting better, things got worse. Extended out-of-stock, lost revenue and customers switching.

The root cause? Poor capability at their factory. Luckily Rachel and her team had identified the problem early on and had jumped into micro-managing the factory’s day-to-day operations.

But the plant failed to improve, and the situation turned into full blown crisis.

Undeterred, Rachel doubled down on fixing root cause. More micro-managing. More travel. More resources.

Still no improvement.

12 months into the crisis a desperate Rachel assembled her team, “We need to step back and rethink what we’re doing.” She asked one question, “Can we fix revenue, the business problem, without fixing the factory?”

Six months later there were zero out of stocks, revenue had recovered, and customers were happy.

What happened? Yes, originally Rachel identified the correct root cause: fixing the factory would have fixed the problem. But as time went on, solving the root cause wasn’t working. But instead of pivoting, Rachel stayed zeroed-in.

She got stuck in the mindset: always identify root cause and fix it.

When she shifted perspective, it was like a lightbulb turned on. Her team’s creativity unlocked, and in 30 minutes they brainstormed multiple options to reduce out of stocks and recover revenue by reallocating existing inventory.

But the thing is, had Rachel taken a step back months earlier, she could have minimized the revenue impact and avoided the crisis altogether.

Her mindset created a blind spot where she couldn’t see the big picture – revenue.

From Troubleshooting to Tunnel Vision

Fix it. Solve it. Find the root cause and make problems go away so they aren’t repeated.  That’s what you say whether it’s a technical issue, a personnel problem, or an underperforming marketing campaign. It’s a troubleshooting mindset.

And in most cases, it’s the right one. It’s critical to have a root cause process and resolve issues permanently.

Where the troubleshooting mindset goes sideways is when it turns into the tunnel vision trap.

Tunnel vision is when you fixate on a singular focus, leading you to double down on one point of view and reject other possibilities. Everything else outside the tunnel, like the bigger picture, go into your blind spot.

And it’s tricky. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re still a great leader resolving other issues.  It’s just that you’re stuck on this ONE thing. When you’re stuck, your critical thinking switches off, and you can no longer read other signals or see other solutions in your blind spot.

Worse, when you’re in the tunnel, you don’t realize it.

Look around. There are probably lots of people stuck. It might not matter if the problem is small or gets resolved quickly. It will matter, however, when the problem drags on, results don’t improve and the situation turns ugly: blaming, infighting and reduced productivity.

Left unchecked, tunnel vision can exact a high price: time, trust, creativity, revenue, margin, and productivity.

Are you the organization’s leader? Here’s what you can do

While tunnel vision is common, fixable and preventable, it’s also unrecognized. Even the best problem solvers can get trapped. As the leader, you’ll need a process to help before they get too deep.

Here are 3 things you can do:

Look for signals it’s time to rethink the problem and solution.

• Look for signs of struggle. How are they acting: Unfocused? Losing confidence? Confused that they’re plan isn’t working?
• How is the organization behaving? Is there a lot blaming?
• Is it taking way too long to see progress? What’s the impact on the broader business results?
• Set a target timeline where you should see meaningful progress and review milestones.

Ask questions to reframe the situation. People expand their point of view when they shift their frame of reference.

• What’s the bigger picture? Can you achieve a bigger picture without solving for root cause?
• What are your base assumptions? Could the assumptions have changed, or be wrong?
• Could the problem be reframed: For example, could this be a stability issue, not a capability issue? Could this be an information flow issue, not a technical problem?

Help them find and reapply their problem-solving mojo. Ask questions like:

• Think of a time when everyone else was stuck, but you found a new way to solve a problem.
• Think of a time when you busted conventional wisdom and made a breakthrough.
• Think of a time when you solved an “unsolvable” problem or reversed a problem in record time.
• In those situations what did you do and how can this be reapplied?

Create a big picture mindset

There’s nothing wrong with a strong troubleshooting mindset and root cause analysis process. But keep in mind, there are other ways to solve problems. 

Create a big picture mindset and you’ll help your leaders stay outside the tunnel and minimize blind spots. Your business will grow in unexpected ways, and your organization will be more creative, innovative and productive.