System life. How to organize life to cope with uncertainty and achieve results without burnout

I have devoted a lot to the topic of motivation and the definition of the path vector in this chapter, although the questions are to some extent philosophical, not practical. But it had to be done. It doesn’t matter how fast you’re going if you’re going in the wrong direction. Don’t worry if you’re not sure where you’re going yet. Just go through the stages of the system life and adjust the vector in time, if necessary.

Root cause analysis

You need to approach this stage when you have analyzed the current situation in terms of: spheres of life, environment, skills, motivation, values and thinking. Similarly, it is as if you gathered at the foot of the mountain with a team and analyzed the resources before climbing. We laid out all the backpacks, tools and provisions in front of us. We looked at the team, its attitude, skills, strengths and weaknesses. Since you have seen more details, everything has become even more complicated. There are not enough canteens for water, backpacks have holes, equipment is taken from a flea market, and half of the team has no idea what climbing a mountain is, and the skills to shoot stories will not help in any way in a difficult situation. It turns out there’s still a lot of work to do before you start climbing. What to do? First you need to patch up all the gaps to start your journey with confidence, not at random. Why is it necessary to dig into problems at such an early stage? If it is already clear that we have, and you can start planning. But life is not a fictional example from a book. If you have health problems, then there will be no energy to do anything. If you are getting by from paycheck to paycheck, then stress will hold you back from changes. If you have a toxic environment, then you won’t even be able to start thinking about new goals. You can’t make a «whoosh» so that everything changes quickly by itself. In such cases, it is necessary to solve the basic problems first. Look at all the spheres in Maslow’s pyramid. Where are there more problems or shortcomings in it? If at the first two levels, then solve these problems first, and then proceed to improve all areas further at the levels above.

Maslow’s pyramid

The good news is that you are not the only one with such problems. Many people have them, and most solutions already exist. If there are live examples who have coped with similar problems, then you can too. The main thing is to get involved. When you see that you will succeed, you will believe that everything is possible. You will see a new horizon of problems, but it will not be so scary anymore. It is convenient when you place the entire analysis of the current situation on a large sheet or a Miro board. To see the full map of the current situation from above. Mark all problem areas, undesirable situations, people, qualities, and so on the map. Everything you associate with the problems you want to get rid of. Then we need to solve the problems. How to solve any problem? The algorithm is simple. Find the problem, come up with a solution and implement it. Root cause analysis helps to find the root of the problem. Often people mistake the symptoms of a problem for the problem itself and endlessly solve them. Endlessly bailing out water from a boat with a hole. It is right to solve problems so that they no longer arise and do not create new problems. This can only be done if the root problem is found and solved.

To find root problems, you can use RCA (Root Cause Analysis). This method helps to look at the problem comprehensively, see the connections and find the root cause of a specific negative situation. There are many methods for such analysis. The most famous are «Five Whys» and «Ishikawa Diagram». I suggest using the «Five Whys». It has a clear logic, and in the future, it is easy to modify for any needs. It was invented by the founder of Toyota – Sakiti Toeda. Initially, the method was intended for solving production problems. Asking the question «Why?» five times at the site of the problem, the original source of the problem was determined, and the solution was found faster. To find the root causes of problems, we will need to ask ourselves this question a lot more than five times, as well as work with cause-and-effect relationships. We are not soulless machines in production, so an important feature of the process is honesty and objectivity to ourselves because you have to admit unpleasant things to yourself.

«A fool who has admitted that he is a fool is no longer a fool at all»

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Our task is to postpone emotions, value judgments and accusations. Even in a quote by Dostoevsky, there is no need to cling to the first word. You are not a fool. You are a brave person who is not afraid to admit inaction, mistakes, fears or ignorance. This is the only way to find the cause in cold blood and make sure that it is the root cause. I got acquainted with this method when I came to work as a project manager at red_mad_robot. Every Friday we had a meeting with the team, where we exchanged case statuses and discussed projects. At one of these meetings, I told the status that we do not have time to get the money, since the client cannot sign the documents on time due to a problem on their side. Creative Director Max Desyatykh asked me why. I replied that they had a problem with electronic document management. He asked me again why. I told him more details, and he asked again. These were my first weeks in the company, and inside I was just boiling with anger. I was thinking to myself, why are you bothering me, what are you trying to achieve. I explained to you that they have a problem, and we can’t influence it. But in the real world, I admitted that I couldn’t answer any further, and Max asked me to find out. The next day I went to sort it out, playing a game of whimsy with the client’s manager. It turned out that the problem was with the signatory, he went on vacation. In just one call, the manager found a person with the right to sign, and the documents were signed. I could have done it right away, but I didn’t ask a couple of extra «why» and didn’t make any progress in solving the problem. And the client, no matter how cool he is, does not need to solve other people’s problems. Today I remember this story with a smile and I myself demand from my team to get to the root causes and find out the most complete picture. This helps to look ahead, analyze in more detail and immediately generate solutions on the spot without unnecessary steps. I have tried many root cause analysis methods for myself. With the team, we experimented with different methods in project management. But I use the «Five Why» method most often. It has acquired its own nuances, layers of detail and designations, but the essence remains the same as in the original. Be sure to adopt it in your work, so as not to be like Vasily in the parable below.

Vasily asks his master:

– Why do you pay me 5 cents, and Boris 5 rubles?

The master in response asks Vasily:

– Aren’t they hauling hay away there by any chance?

– I don’t know.

– So go take a look.

Vasily returns and says:

– Yes, hay.

– And from which meadow?

– I don’t know.

– So go ask.

The employee comes again and responds:

– From the Konstantinovsky meadow.

– And what kind of hay mowing, the first or the second?

– I don’t know.

– Go and ask.

Vasily comes back again and says:

– The first mowing.

– And how much do they sell?

– I don’t know.

– Ask, please, – says the master.

Once again, an employee comes and answers the question:

– 5 rubles each.

– Do they bargain?

– I don’t know, – Vasily declares for the umpteenth time.

At this moment Boris enters and says to the master:

– There the hay was brought from the Konstantinovsky meadow, the first mowing. I asked «how much?». They said 5 rubles each. I haggled until 3. Buy and unload it?

The gentleman turns to Vasily and says:

– That’s why I pay you 5 cents, and Boris 5 rubles!

Boris figured out the issue in more detail, gathered information, made decisions, benefited, received money, will buy himself a Mercedes. Vasily limited himself to one question, he only has enough for vape. Vasily needs to sit down and ask himself the question: «Why am I being paid 5 cents?». Then analyze the root causes and identify the root. Having solved it, Vasily will embark on the path to his 5 rubles. Later, he will be able to ask himself the question – «Why do they pay me 5 rubles?» – and walk to his Mercedes. Train the habit of not making decisions based on superficial information, but ask questions to get to the truth.

The task of root cause analysis is to identify the root cause or complement the integrity of the picture by visualizing a model of the problem (phenomenon or desire). The visual model helps to identify cause-and-effect relationships, hidden causes, dependence of causes and root nodes of causes. It is better to use Miro or a similar service to make it easier to edit your scheme. Try to stick to the basic rules:

1. First, the problem or undesirable phenomenon is written down that needs to be resolved is recorded;

2. Then, using the «why» questions, we build a tree of the causes of the problem from top to bottom, while it is possible;

3. Any branch ends with a root cause or an immutable cause;

4. The cause of the problem may be problems of a lower level, which have their own reasons;

5. When you answer the question «why», then try to rely on the facts and indicate the reason for what is written in the rectangle above. Avoid value judgments, emotions, and objects unrelated to the problem;

6. A tree can have many parallel branches, several of the following reasons can come out of one reason;

7. The reasons can be connected by the node «and»/«or». If the causes are connected by the «and» node, then you need to eliminate all the causes included in the problem in order to solve it. If through «or», then only one can be solved;

8. Some reasons may be similar to each other or be the cause of other problems from neighboring branches. Note similar reasons to highlight them in a group of reasons.

The easiest way is to consider the method on a real example. When I worked at the factory, I was not satisfied with my salary. What would the root cause analysis look like: «I have a small salary.»

Example of root cause analysis

The example is vital and simple, but very difficult to analyze. I have repeatedly run through this chain of reasoning in my head when talking about buying my apartment in Donetsk. I ran through, but I didn’t do anything, because it’s very hard to notice and admit to yourself that you don’t know how to do anything. The scheme is branching into two branches: «1» and «2». We immediately discard the «2» branch, since we cannot influence the company. Branch «1» is divided into three more branches: «1.1», «1.2» and «1.3». The «1.2» branch does not give anything. The decision on it is very labor-intensive and long. Branches «1.1» and «1.3» lead us to two main root causes: «No knowledge and experience» and «Fear and self-doubt». The reason «I didn’t do anything to find out» is more indirect. These are more symptoms of fear. Thanks to the analysis behind the first layer of the search for the guilty and justifications for inaction, we see which problems are really important to solve. Moreover, it is clear how to solve them. There are many ways to learn new skills and gain experience. It is more difficult to increase self-esteem and overcome fear, but it is also known how. It is difficult to argue with this and give the brain a chance to explain why it is not necessary to do this. For example, I did not take into account all possible branches, but left only the most important. In real analysis, there can be very huge schemes with a large number of branches, which allows you to consider all the causes and highlight the connections.

Above, I briefly outlined what the method is. If you have never done such an analysis before, then watch the video or read articles on the Internet. There are many detailed explanations and examples on the web. The method is quite easy to learn, and anyone will figure it out without any problems. To analyze my situations, I use the RCA+ (Root Conflict Analysis) method, which was developed by Valery Sushkov. He is one of the developers of the tools of modern TRIZ (Theory of inventive problem solving) and the Technology of Systemic Innovative Thinking, as well as the co – founder of the European TRIZ Association and the International Business TRIZ Association. This method also builds a tree of reasons, but the principle of operation is significantly different from the “Five Why” method. I was lucky to get on a course with Valery Sushkov. There I learned about his method and immediately started using it. If the “Five Whys” is too simple for you or does not work to find root causes, then search the web for information about RCA+ or Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints. It is better to watch the video and practice right away, since it is very difficult to explain them in text. But this is already an advanced level for solving complex problems in business. “Five Whys” will be enough for you.

The task of the last section on analysis is to convey to everyone that root cause analysis is a mandatory step for all types of problems. Always get to the root cause. This way you will be able to deal with real problems, not with symptoms. You will be able to focus your efforts by spending less resources. The questions «why» and «what for» are among the most important ones in life. They embody a meaningful approach to life. These questions can be used not only to find reasons, but also to make informed decisions, filter desires and maintain motivation. We’ll talk about this further. Take the analysis very seriously, do not neglect it. The brain will always come up with an explanation for any phenomenon, will try to save resources and lead you according to an understandable scenario. Culture, people and lack of time – everything works against the process of recognizing the root causes. Root cause analysis is your protective shield against interference and a companion of system life. It all starts with him, and then he will come in handy more than once. Where else will you find such a powerful free tool that produces clarity for you and saves resources.

Outcome

Einstein was once asked how he would spend an hour of his time solving a very difficult problem. He replied that he would spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes solving it. There’s no reason not to trust Albert. Any actions or decisions should start with analysis. This will protect you from premature anxiety, wrong decisions and unnecessary actions. Regularly stop the flow of information and urgent matters, as Neo stopped the bullets at the end of the first «Matrix». Do an analysis of the current situation in order to unload the mind, make a revision of life and load back only the most important.

«Reason is the ability of expedient action as a result of objective analysis»

V.E. Mikhaltsev

Update the resources you have, understand what barriers and problems prevent you from getting what you want. The strategy and speed of your movement towards changes and goals depends on this. Analysis is the foundation for the shortest path to the goal. It is important to understand the comfortable state of all spheres of life, your strengths and weaknesses. Meaningfully feel motivated and strengthen the growth mindset. Your environment should promote development and positively influence all spheres of life. And most importantly, you need to know the true causes of your problems and results. Highlight problem areas and find root problems. Most of the problems you can’t solve because you don’t want to or don’t know how. If you are reading a book, then everything is «OK» with the desire. Now you only need to get the necessary knowledge and try it out. If you understand in detail the problems and causes of the current situation, then a solution may arise already at the analysis stage. The problem may not be a problem at all, or there will be no need to solve it. Remember, everyone in the world is against you stopping and figuring everything out. The swift current will always carry you forward, so that you do not have time and energy for this. It’s hard to resist, but it’s possible. This requires a systematic approach, where analysis plays a fundamental role. Conscious life and development are impossible without it.

Chapter 2. Planning

Prologue

Everyone has their own plan until they get hit in the jaw. Then many people, like rats, stop and freeze

Mike Tyson

In the first chapter, we analyzed what we have to start moving. In the second chapter, let’s move on to where and how to start moving? To figure this out, you need a planning process. Today it is fashionable to hide behind the VUCA-world, so as not to plan. There are no guarantees anyway, and no one knows what will happen. Therefore, there is no point in planning. Yes, no one knows what will happen. Before Tyson, Field Marshal Moltke said that in a battle, the battle plan is the first one to die. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to plan. It is better to start moving according to the plan and deviate than to start moving at random. No matter how scary the VUCA world is, no one bothers to make a plan for a year, quarter, week or day. It all depends on your ability to adapt in the first collision of the plan and reality. The shorter the planning period, the more likely it is that the plan will come to fruition. Because there is more clarity. But at the same time, the shorter the planning period, the more negligent we treat it. We are sure that we will solve everything quickly on the go, and it’s not worth bothering. Has it ever happened to you when you woke up on your day off and didn’t know what to do? Why is this happening? You knew it would be a day off, so have a rest. But you haven’t planned what you’re going to do. As a result, you need to strain yourself, come up with leisure and sort out options. Usually, you end up watching TV series and whining that you didn’t do anything over the weekend. Then a working week starts, and everything looks like a circle that never ends. Most people are busy doing things, not implementing plans. They just don’t have time to stop and ask themselves the question: why am I doing this? What goal does this bring me closer to or what problem does it solve? Because there is no clear goal and plan to achieve it. And when it is not clear what to do, the brain suggests doing what is clear and simple. Many will say they have a plan. It’s in the head, and they follow it. They can even list out loud: «And this must be done, and this …". If you ask them, «Why? What is the deadline and the output result?», they have nothing to answer. Planning is not thinking what you want to do, it is part of a system of self-organization in the form of specific processes. It is very important to learn how to transform a strategy into a process, and a process into a description of specific work actions. Without this, you can only do harm and accelerate the squirrel in the wheel to the speed of light. Fasten your seat belts. We are starting a chapter that will upgrade your knowledge about goal setting and planning.

There are no guarantees

Before planning, you need to take vitamins for thinking in the form of the text below. So that the update of the growth mindset accelerates and gets deep into your mind. Reading about the VUCA world, we seem to understand that there is uncertainty, and this is the norm, but we do not consciously accept it. Because certainty is a drug for our brain, and it’s not easy to do without it. We want to be sure that our company will not be closed during the pandemic, the working meeting will go well, the bank will not go bankrupt, the developer will not disappear, there will be a guarantee of work, we will have enough money to survive the crisis and so on and so forth. We want everything to be clear, stable, predictable. We want to organize everything, get guarantees, insure ourselves, avoid difficulties. We cannot stand uncertainty, and we begin to break down when it is unclear what will happen next. So strong that it is impossible to tolerate it, and we start having anxiety. Research has proven that we tolerate pain more easily than uncertainty, because pain is understandable to us. For example, the uncertainty that everything is going well at work has a worse effect on health than dismissal. No one is to blame for this. This is how our brain works. Look at the SCARF social behavior model (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness), which was developed by David Rock. It explains the five main goals that our brain perceives as critically important:

1. Status – a sense of respect caused by a position in the hierarchy;

2. Certainty – the ability to predict the consequences;

3. Autonomy – a sense of control over what is happening;

4. Relatedness – a sense of security next to others;

5. Fairness – the perception of a fair exchange.

Everything is quite logical. With the help of these goals, our brain fulfills the well-known instinct of self-preservation. From the second point it is clear that the brain wants confidence, and considers all the unknown stuff to be dangerous. It must know what any action will lead to, and will do everything to avoid uncertainty. But there is no certainty! If it were, we could say with 100% certainty that the ruble would not devalue, there would be no self-isolation, a war would not start, a meteorite would not fall to the Earth, etc. We try to make predictions, but there is no certainty anymore. If there had been, then 10 years ago you could have said: «I want to be the manager of a virtual influencer on a social network,» but no one could have imagined that such a thing could be. And no amount of forecasting would help to predict it. No matter how much we strive for certainty, we will never be able to get it. The brain wants what it doesn’t have. Yep, what a paradox. Think for yourself, there is no certainty in anything. Anything can happen, anytime. This has not been news for a long time. Nassim Taleb wrote everything in his books a long time ago. But the task of learning to accept uncertainty is still very relevant.

What to do with uncertainty?

First you need to change your worldview about the future, uncertainty and problems.

1. There is no image of the future anymore. The future has trends, but it is impossible to predict the future just by analyzing them. My wife’s uncle once said: «When we lived in the USSR, everything was clear. It’s like you’re flying slowly and steadily on a spaceship, but it’s clear where you are heading. And now you’re flying on the same ship, but 100 times faster, and meteorites are flying at you. And you only can try to dodge them.» Then there was no certainty either, but there was too little speed to notice it. Today, the speed of the world is regularly increasing and can make a leap in a day. If you are asked at an interview, «who do you see yourself in 5 years?», then you need to leave it or answer with a fictional profession. Let them prove that there will be no such thing in 5 years. Today life is like running in a fog. You can see it up close, but not further than 5 meters ahead. Like a map of the area in a computer game – it opens further when you come to its border.

2. We need to accept the uncertainty. Such a decision will give you the strength to make changes. When you stop looking for certainty in everything, there will be less stress. Most problems arise because you are trying to predict the future. Any prediction is stressful. A forecast describes events that may or may not occur. You can’t guarantee to influence it, but you try to find certainty and worry that you don’t find it. The forecast is your thoughts, as it may be, and the plan is what you will do at certain events. Only now we need to learn how to plan in the fog. To do this, you have 5 meters of visibility. Hang a sticker or poster at home «I accept uncertainty» and start slowly getting used to it. It will be a long way, but without accepting uncertainty, nothing new will happen.