At work, I was part of an AI upskilling pilot program. One of the courses was on Root Cause Analysis.
For reference, Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is systematic way to identify the fundamental, underlying reason for a problem. There are variations on methods, like the “Toyota Way,” but Root Cause Analysis generally covers the following:
- Define the problem
- Collect data/info
- Identity potential causes
- Identify the root cause
- Develop a solution, or solutions
- Implement solution, or solutions
- Monitor outcomes
- Document and share
If you’ve ever worked a customer support job, or run a marketing campaign, good bet you’ve done a form of Root Cause Analysis. My weekend experiment with Copilot and my manuscript has yielded some interesting things, like getting a new perspective on my manuscript. Adding Evernote’s AI and Notion’s AI into the mix has yielded some additional insights.
Constant Root Cause Analysis on myself
Namely: I’ve been doing Root Cause Analysis on myself for more than a decade.
I have kept track of all manner of data points:
- Books I’ve read
- Notes on books I’ve read
- Articles I’ve read
- Notes on articles I’ve read
- Music I’ve listened to
- Lyrics that run through my head
- Movie lines that run through my head
- Notes after therapy
- Notes after meetings
- Notes after corporate vents
- Notes after sports
- Morning Pages
Just … so much data. It was challenging, but doable, to sift and sort it when writing the first draft of my manuscript. There were clear markers where my brain rewired itself within the time frame of the first draft.
With AI, however, the markers and the pathways are more clear. I can track, almost in real time, how my brain went about rewiring itself.
Where the lyrics changed, and what might have prompted the change. The silence that descended when I adopted my dog. The complete change in me when I adopted my dog, bought a house, and figured out how to live, thrive and survive during the Pandemic.
My brain has not stopped rewiring itself. Rather, it’s gotten better at being more fluid, rolling with the punches, adapting, and adjusting. It’s mapped failures, lessons, found solutions, tested them, and then pursued the one that worked the best.
Over and over and over again. Systematically.
Reminds me of a quote from the movie Jurassic Park: “They’re testing the fences for weakness, systemically, and they never check the same place twice.”
Visualize the change for others?
It’s one thing to have a vague sense you’ve been on a quest to improve yourself. It’s another thing to be able to connect the data points, and see how change has transpired.
Part of me wonders if I should turn my public writing site into a visual representation of change, or use it to illustrate as you read the manuscript.