Once you’ve identified the real issues, start asking “Why?” Keep doing so until you reach a point where you can’t ask “Why?” anymore—or when you’re forced to repeat an explanation you’ve already discovered. That is your deepest why and the real cause of your problem. For example: We lost our top customer. Why? A competing product costs less. Why? Because it has fewer features. Why? Because most customers don’t need all of the features in our product. Aha! Now you’ve identified one of the main reasons why you didn’t hit your numbers: because your product doesn’t fit your customer’s need.
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