I recently met a man who was diagnosed with leukemia; his condition worsened as his treatment program proceeded. After much pain and suffering, he decided to question his diagnosis, only to learn that he does not have that disease. That’s right, he was enduring a treatment plan that both created unnecessary suffering as well as ignored his actual problem.

It’s not just illness that gets misdiagnosed. It happens all the time in business.

Leaders rush to address what seems like the problem. In many cases, they are targeting a symptom instead of the actual problem.

I bet you’ve experienced a similar situation…

A leader labels ______ to be the problem. Another person says something to the effect of, “Perhaps we should do a root cause analysis to identify the actual problem?” The leader and/or others in the room sigh or push back.

“We don’t have enough time.”

“There’s no need.”

“We know what the problem is. We’ve seen this before.”

So, time, energy and resources are wasted chasing the wrong problem.

And pretending to fix a problem (or cure a disease) can be even worse than doing nothing – it creates the temporary illusion that everything is under control.

As you reflect on this past year, where have you or your team possibly jumped too quick and what lingering issues need deeper focus in ’24?