It is now well known in consulting that the issue which you are called in to solve is rarely the real issue at stake. Most of the time, there is some underlying problem which is much more serious and that needs to be addressed heads on.
This issue is explained for example in Peter Block’s ‘Flawless consulting‘ book.
And quite often as consultants, as we are not infallible, we start addressing some surface problem first before realizing what the main issue really is.
Also, the real issue is often more difficult to tackle because it is generally a much deeper issue related to governance and people’s behavior.
When called in to resolve an issue, always take a deep breath and some time to figure out whether there would not be a deeper underlying problem that would better need to be resolved. It is generally the case, and your intervention will be much more powerful.
