TRUTH 19

Symptoms and causes first, ideas after

A farmer once told me this: “When a storm destroys your fence, you’ve got two problems. One is to mend the fence. The other is to catch the cows.” This farmer’s wisdom illustrates how a single cause can create more than one symptom. When your role is to find creative solutions, you will want to know whether you are addressing a symptom or an underlying cause. Symptoms are issues that are evident and obvious. Catching loose cows and mending fence rails. Causes are usually hidden and take a little more work to identify. Why did the fence break and can it be prevented in future?

The key to locating causes is to be aware of context when someone is sharing content. Here is an example. Ask a friend ...

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