In a nutshell

Often we rush to solve problems without really understanding what’s causing them. This activity helps a group dig deeper to understand the causes of a problem rather than tackling the symptoms.

By exploring multiple layers of cause and effect, you often uncover surprising leverage points that weren’t obvious at the start.

Set up

You’ll need:

• A landscape sheet of paper A3 or flipchart, or a whiteboard

• A problem owner with clear issue to explore

• A facilitator to guide them and capture the conversation

Works best with the person who owns the problem present — someone who knows the situation intimately and really wants to make progress on it.

Activity flow

Step 1: Define the issue (2–3 mins)

Write the issue you’re working on near the right-hand side of your page.
Don’t put it right on the edge — you may discover it’s not the root, but part of something bigger.

Write it clearly and simply. For example: “Sales are down.”

Step 2: Ask what’s causing it (5 mins)

Now ask:
→What might be contributing to this?

Note down each cause to the left of the issue (tracking to the left of the page) using arrows to show how they feed in step-by-step.

Use short phrases. Don’t over-edit or filter. You’re building a picture, not debating accuracy yet.

Step 3: Keep going layer by layer (5–7 mins)

Take each of those causes and treat it as a new issue.
→What’s contributing to this one? What things cause this?

Repeat the process. Each cause becomes a new effect with its own causes. It’s works best co-creatively with the facilitator offering suggestions “Could this be the case?” or “Is this happening..?”

It starts to look like a branching map of connected factors.

Tip: Some causes might show up in multiple places — that’s useful! Circle or highlight repeated ones.

Step 4: Explore the other direction (3–5 mins)

Now flip it. Ask:
→What’s the effect of the original issue? What’s the impact or consequence (aka what does it limit or block)? 

Explore what else could cause that high order effect? (it might not just be the original cause).

Add these effects to the right-hand side of the issue.

Sometimes this reveals that the problem you started with is actually a symptom of something bigger, and it may reveal entirely different ways of addressing the bigger challenge.

Step 5: Reflect and choose the focus (5 mins)

Step back and look at the whole map. Ask:

• Which causes show up most often?

• Which ones feel most important?

• Which bits feel unclear or sticky?

• What feels most worth taking action on?

The problem owner gets the final say — it’s their problem to own. But a good facilitator will gently challenge, ask questions, and invite curiosity.

Results

By the end of this process you’ll have:

• A fuller picture of what’s going on

• Greater clarity on where to focus

• One or more deeper challenge areas that are good starting points for finding solutions

Things to flag up

• Don’t skip past causes that seem “obvious” — they might point to deeper patterns.

• Be playful with language — rewording can open up new understandings.

• If you start arguing over “is this a cause or effect?” — just write it down. Debate later so you can cover the ground.

• This is about mapping perspectives, not finding a single truth.

Riffs & variations

• Do a second pass in a different colour to show what’s in our control vs what’s not.

• Come back to the map later and see if anything new jumps out, or run through it with a different colleague. Insight grows over time.

Source: Arthur Vangundy and The Ideas Centre