Ben Bradlee Quotes

If you are unable to understand the cause of a problem it is impossible to solve it.

Problems are cured by facing their cause.

Generally, you cannot solve a problem without defining the problem completely.

You cannot solve a problem unless you diagnose the problem.

The fact that it wasn't tells me that we've got a much more fundamental problem of understanding what went wrong, and we've got to figure out what was there. And that's what I call fundamental fault analysis.

Finding out exactly what went wrong is key toward preventing future debacles.

It's the people who have an incentive to find the problem who usually find the problem.

If your project doesn't work, look for the part that you didn't think was important.

It is one thing to diagnose a problem; it is another to resolve it.

the cause must be ascertained, before the remedy is devised.

The best way to solve any problem is to remove its cause.

I have to keep going to find out ultimately what is the matter with it in the end.

You can't solve a problem until you address the problem.

You can't solve a problem? Well, get down and investigate the present facts and [the problem's] past history! When you have investigated the problem thoroughly, you will know how to solve it.

Investigation may be likened to the long months of pregnancy, and solving a problem to the day of birth. To investigate a problem is, indeed, to solve it.

To me, error analysis is the sweet spot for improvement.

When you're trying to solve a problem on a new product type, you become completely focused on problems that seem a number of steps removed from the main product. That problem solving can appear a little abstract, and it is easy to lose sight of the product.

When you hire a plumber because no hot water is coming out of the kitchen sink faucet, you need to go to the water heater, not the faucet.

I try to get to the heart of the issue, address it, and go on to the next thing.

It's often hard to just throw money at a problem when you don't really know what the problem is.

I like to give myself time to deal with an issue. I get to the root of the matter and learn from it. I don't like to repeat mistakes.

The answer is always at the site of the problem.

Finding a solution is the way to go.

I'm supporting anything that we can do to find out how this stuff is happening.

The important thing in my view is not to pin the blame for a mistake on somebody, but rather to find out what caused the mistake.