Shep Englander — Federation Journal
Fundamental #12: Fix Problems at the Source
Fundamental #12: FIX PROBLEMS AT THE SOURCE. Address issues by discovering the root cause rather than simply tackling the symptoms. It’s better to invest time in developing a long-term solution rather than putting on a “Band-Aid.”
First, I want to thank every member of our staff for embracing the Fundamentals as the execution of our Federation values and team culture. I appreciate everyone’s commitment to start group meetings with a few minutes reflection on the Fundamental of the week.
I have to admit that this week’s Fundamental is trickier than it sounds. Before we can fix problems at the source, we have to look at everyone who may be part of/affected by the problem and define the problem (or challenge) together. Our culture values happy, good news. So we may be concerned that announcing that there is a problem or challenge may be unpopular. It’s easier just to apply a Band-Aid. So let’s start encouraging each other to call out when there is a problem or a challenge. And let’s jump in to help define the problem and its roots.
However, we also have to be clear that fixing problems at the source is time consuming. So sometimes, we may decide to flag a problem and schedule the “fixing” part for a later time.
See here for Shep’s comments on all the fundamentals so far.
