Another newsletter this week pointed to this nice discussion of mental models and on Proximate vs Root Causes (Why You Should Keep Digging to Find the Answer) in particular.

The short version here is in the parenthetical - the immediate (or proximate) cause may be the short term explanation for an undesirable effect. But rarely is it the Underlying, root cause. That is the whole point of the various root cause analysis methods that are available.

Another variant on this idea came up in a conversation today. Why not simply solve the “obvious” problem that presents itself? (We aren’t talking about “Godzilla is destroying Tokyo - run” kinds of problems.) Often even the immediate “problem” is the wrong problem. Using your favorite methods to dive into the root cause can even help understand the underlying problem. Why is this the problem that worries you?

In any case, dig deeper. (And I love the caution in the article: don’t use this to beat yourself up, if you are doing “root cause” on a personal problem. In those cases, work with someone else.)