The NGO’s planning committee gathered in a modest hall one Saturday morning. On the agenda was how to use a fresh grant that had been recently received from a prominent donor. One volunteer leaned forward and said, “Supplies are urgent, let’s lock that first.” Another shook his head, “No, without more staff, supplies won’t matter.” A third added, “Digital is the future, shouldn’t we invest there?” The conversation moved in circles. The same arguments came up again and again, just wrapped in new words. Voices grew sharper. People looked drained. No one felt truly heard..
Among them sat a Project Manager who had recently joined the NGO as a volunteer. He did not interrupt. He watched. The scene felt uncomfortably familiar. He had seen this same pattern back in his own spec workshops at work. Different people, different context, yet the same dissipation of energy. Everyone meant well, everyone tried, but the end result was fatigue, frustration, and no resolution.
Walking back after the meeting, he kept asking himself: why does this keep happening, both here and at work? Everyone brings effort, yet the real cause keeps slipping away. That is when the thought struck him. The missing piece was not effort at all. It was structure.
What was the problem?
There had been no baseline preparation before the NGO meeting. No one was assigned to lead individual topics. No order of priority had been set. Even the few members dialing in remotely were not considered when timings were chosen. These gaps were the root causes of the circular discussions and frustration.
The same patterns were visible at work as well. People did not feel empowered to challenge how meetings were run or suggest improvements, and feedback had no home. Until these root causes were addressed, a learning culture could never take hold.
The realization stayed with him. So, when he sat down again with his supplier team the following week, he tried something new. Instead of another routine retrospective, he introduced the idea of Root Cause Learning as a practice.
How we fixed it
The team was given a short training on the TOC thinking process, cause–effect analysis, and how to run effective retrospectives. From then on, every delivery and even every failure was followed by a retrospective, carefully logged for organizational learning.
To make it engaging, the top contributors to monthly root cause analysis were recognized with what they fondly called the Sherlock Holmes Award. Along with a certificate came a small cash prize, but more than that, came the pride of being recognized for problem solving.
Over time, the team’s behavior began to change. People who once stayed silent started speaking up. Someone would say, “Wait, maybe the root cause is not what we think.” Another would add, “If we fix this deeper issue now, we won’t face the same fire in the next sprint.” The mood in meetings shifted from firefighting to problem solving. Mistakes were no longer repeated blindly.
The impact was measurable. The supplier team began saving nearly 10% effort in subsequent cycles, collaboration grew sharper, and the team developed an instinct to look beneath the surface before reacting.
Back at the NGO, he shared the same approach. Meetings were restructured with clear leads, prework assigned, and time managed with care. The endless loops disappeared. Discussions turned focused, and the volunteers left the room feeling heard and energized.
Learning from it
It wasn’t just the agenda that changed, structure made them feel empowered. Voices that had stayed quiet now came forward, and the group finally saw what had been holding them back all along. Over time, they cultivated a culture of learning, where each meeting built on the last instead of repeating it.
The same shift began to unfold at work. Teams no longer circled around problems. They named them, learned from them, and moved faster. What looked like a fix to meetings was actually something deeper taking root, a culture where root causes didn’t stay buried, but became the starting point for progress.
Later, the customer he worked with at his day job remarked, “Earlier, we would lose so much time running in circles. Now, I see the team bringing back insights we can use, not just excuses. It feels like we are moving forward together.”
The lesson was clear. Whether in charity work or in product delivery, energy alone cannot push things forward. When structure creates a space for root cause learning and sharing, circular debates transform into actionable steps.
Ready to save time, effort, and avoid repeated mistakes in your projects? Reach out to us at info@wonderbiz.in and start the conversation.
Quick quiz — check what you remember
What practice did the Project Manager introduce to his supplier team?
3-point summary
Root cause analysis prevents recurring problems by addressing underlying issues, not just symptoms.
Structured problem-solving improves collaboration, efficiency, and decision-making.
Teams using root cause learning save up to 10–15% effort in future cycles.
