Diagnose before you prescribe any action

Every successful strategy starts with a problem diagnosis—the discovery of which issue really needs solving. Consider a school where test scores stalled despite fancy new curricula and motivational posters. The principal, rather than ordering more textbooks, mapped daily routines and found that students spent only 25 minutes on homework due to a chaotic after-school schedule. By focusing on that routine bottleneck—rather than another set of test targets—the school redesigned after-school activities to build focused study time. Scores began to climb not because of more drills, but because the real hindrance had been removed.

The key step was identifying the crucial asymmetry: homework time was fragmented, so no amount of new content could reach students. Once that gap was known, everything else—timetables, staffing, parent permissions—fell into place as supporting actions. This process of deliberate diagnosis turns complexity into clarity and yields strategies that actually solve the right problem.

Across contexts—business, families, schools—the impact is the same. When you map out the influences around your challenge and identify the one high-leverage gap, you build a strategy on a firm foundation. Instead of guessing, you act with purpose.

First, map your dilemma by sketching the influences, constraints, and stakeholders around it. Then gather at least one piece of data for each factor—whether that’s a metric, a customer quote, or a quick survey result—so your diagnosis is fact-based. Next, hunt for the key asymmetry—an internal weakness or external opening that, once addressed, offers the biggest payoff. Finally, test your diagnosis by sharing your map with someone holding a different view and ask them to point out what you might be missing. This process builds clarity before action.