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07/12/2026 A friend in this community left a comment on one of my posts that's been sitting with me: "Checklists that no one checks... many checklists we do are checked by an associate and filed away... never verified." That's not a complaint about checklists. That's a precise description of a checklist operating exactly where you'd expect on the hierarchy — with the tier above it, independent verification, never built. Where does your checklist actually rank? Most controls t

When leadership stops carrying every problem and starts building the system that solves them. 07/03/2026 I walked onto that production floor convinced I already knew how to lead. I'd managed a team of buyers before. I knew how to prioritize, how to follow up, how to get work done through other people. So when I stepped into a production supervisor role over an assembly line of thirty to thirty-five employees, I didn't see it as something new — I saw it as the same job, just b

I was alone in a factory on a Sunday afternoon, wiring a cabinet. I was alone in a factory on a Sunday afternoon, wiring a cabinet. We were behind schedule. So I did what I had always done when things got tight — I stepped in and handled it myself. I had not taken a single day off in six months. At the time, I called that commitment. Looking back, I call it something else. It took standing in that empty factory, doing work that wasn't mine to do, for something to finally land

Is / Is-Not analysis table across What, Where, When, Extent June 13, 2026 One of the fastest ways to sharpen a fuzzy problem — and to get clues about its cause for free — is Is / Is-Not analysis. It’s a simple table that asks not just what the problem is, but, just as importantly, what it is not. Those contrasts keep a narrow problem from being described as a broad one, and they often point straight at where to look. Here’s how to use it. Defining problems is step one of any

Common root cause analysis mistakes and how to avoid them June 13, 2026 If the same problems keep coming back despite “fixing” them, the issue usually isn’t the team — it’s the analysis. Failed root cause analyses tend to fail in the same predictable ways. Here are the seven most common, and the practical habit that fixes each. Want the full method? See our Complete Guide to Root Cause Analysis. https://www.fsquaredconsultinggroup.com/post/root-cause-analysis-guide 1. The pro

The 6 M categories of a fishbone diagram. June 13, 2026 When you build a fishbone diagram, each “bone” is a category of causes — and choosing good categories is what stops a team from fixating on one area and missing the rest. The most widely used set is the 6 Ms. This post explains what each one covers, gives you prompting questions, and shows where the variants (5M1E, the 4 Ss, and HOP) fit. New to fishbones? Start with How to make a fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram. https://www

One-Page A3 report laid out in PDCA sections June 13, 2026 The A3 is deceptively simple: a single sheet of paper (originally A3-size, hence the name) that tells the whole story of a problem and its solution. That constraint is the point — if it doesn’t fit on one page, you don’t understand it well enough yet. This guide walks through the A3 section by section, with an example and a free template. Where the A3 fits in the bigger picture: see our Complete Guide to Root Cause An

5 Whys analysis example leading to a root cause June 13, 2026 The 5 Whys is the simplest root cause analysis tool there is — you just keep asking “why?” — and that simplicity is exactly why it’s so easy to do badly. This post shows the method in action with worked examples, explains how to know when you’ve actually reached a root cause, and gives you a free template to run your own. Want the full RCA process around it? See our Complete Guide to Root Cause Analysis. https://ww

"Completed fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram with 6M categories" June 13, 2006 The fishbone diagram — also called the Ishikawa or cause-and-effect diagram — is the most-used brainstorming tool in root cause analysis, and for good reason: it forces a team to look at the whole range of possible causes instead of locking onto the first one that comes to mind. This guide shows you how to build one from scratch, with a worked example and the common mistakes to avoid. Where does this fit

"Fishbone, 5 Whys and A3 compared across the RCA process" June 13, 2026 "Should we do a fishbone or a 5 Whys?" is one of the most common questions in root cause analysis — and it's the wrong question. Fishbone, 5 Whys, and A3 aren't rival methods you pick between. They're different stages of the same investigation, each doing a job the others can't. Used together, they take you from "something's wrong" to a fix that sticks. Here's what each one is for, when to reach for it,

"Problem statement formula for root cause analysis" June 13, 2026 Ask ten people to investigate "the line is having quality issues" and you'll get ten different investigations — most of them wrong. Not because the team lacks skill, but because the problem was never actually defined. A vague, biased, or solution-loaded problem statement is the single most common reason a root cause analysis goes sideways. The good news: writing a strong problem statement is a learnable, repe

"We turn chaos into clarity — and plans into results." June 12, 2026 Most problems don't get solved — they get managed. The same defect comes back next month, the same incident shows up in a different area, the same "fix" gets re-implemented because no one ever reached the real cause. Root cause analysis (RCA) is the discipline that breaks that cycle: a structured way to get past the symptom to what's actually driving a problem, so you can fix it once and keep it fixed. Thi

When direction comes from everywhere, clarity disappears. A clear chain of command is not about protecting titles. It is about protecting the people May 31, 2026 Chain of Command Is Not About Ego. It Is About Clarity. In modern organizations, the phrase “chain of command” can sound old-fashioned. Some people hear it and immediately think of rigid hierarchy, command-and-control leadership, or leaders protecting their turf. And to be fair, that version of chain of command does

April 26, 2026 I've spent enough time around process design to notice a pattern. Smart, capable leaders — the kind who deliver results, hit their numbers, and earn their promotions — will sometimes redesign a process without ever looking up to see who they're affecting on either side of it. It's rarely malicious. It's not even careless in the way we usually mean that word. It's a blind spot. They were promoted for what they delivered inside their box, and somewhere along the

March 1, 2026 PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is one of the simplest and most widely taught improvement methods in use today. And because it is simple, it is often treated as a checkbox. In many organizations, PDCA becomes something we do rather than something we think through. The form gets filled out, the meeting happens, and the cycle is “closed”—but little attention is given to the quality of the thinking that went into it. Even more rarely is the PDCA itself reviewed. And rarer

September 28, 2025 Most organizations claim they have a talent pipeline, but too many leaders skip one of the most critical steps: identifying qualified resource pools. The Problem: Here’s the common scenario: a business has an opening, HR posts it online, and the expectation is that great candidates will come pouring in. What happens instead? Dozens (or hundreds) of applicants surface, but very few are the right fit. Leaders then complain about the “talent shortage,” when th

September 25, 2025 Good communication skills are like oxygen for leaders—without them, the team cannot thrive. Communication isn’t just about transmitting information; it’s about how the message is delivered, understood, and acted upon. Saying the thing right is just as important as saying the thing. In my experience, communication and emotional intelligence are inseparable. It is nearly impossible to be an effective leader with strong communication skills if emotional intell

August 22, 2025 In every organization, there are leaders who see themselves as bold agents of change. They pride themselves on shaking things up, driving immediate results, and claiming to be “revolutionary.” But too often, what they call revolutionary is in fact something far less admirable: reckless decision-making dressed up as innovation. The Leader Who Mistook Reckless for Revolutionary Consider a leader who inherits a struggling production facility. Determined to make h

August 16, 2025 Every leader makes countless decisions in a single day. Some are small and fleeting, others are pivotal and carry long-term consequences. Yet a mistake I see far too often is treating all decisions as if they are equal. When leaders give the same level of attention to choosing where the team eats lunch as they do to hiring a key team member, they fail to account for complexity, consequence, and context. This “flat” approach to decision-making erodes effectiven

June 22, 2025 Clear, consistent communication is one of the core competencies of effective leadership. Most leaders know this—whether from their business education, an MBA program, or years of experience—but many still struggle. Among the many skills that make up the communication competency, active listening is pivotal, because it turns conversations into insight and action. Within active listening, the crux is gaining understanding—and that cannot happen without purposeful