Today, at the stroke of midnight, I got a call from a colleague – “Good evening, sorry, good morning Sir. There is a problem. I need your help.”
I went further to enquire on the details of the problem, and the checks that had been done. He had done all that was required. I told him I would be joining him to crack this, and then I changed from my pyjamas and hurried to join him.
On reaching there, I thanked him for his prompt escalation and the steps he had taken before calling. I then worked through all the steps again, looking for anything he might have missed. Everything checked out. The issue had now changed in my mind from being a problem, to being a phenomenon – the root cause was still too shy to emerge. Those are usually the most dangerous problems, as they become chronic.
In the calm of the moment, another colleague casually mentioned that he suspects a process line might be the cause. As we were in a fix, I followed his lead. Anything to get us moving forward. I checked out what he suggested, and he was right. The problem we were tackling was actually a symptom of another problem which had a root cause dating back to the date of installation. The symptom had always existed, but was never a problem, because people either did not notice it or did not speak up. Immediately the problem was acknowledged, it produced its own solution.
It was now 02:00 am. A new wave of energy seemed to have been poured into everyone, the type of energy that follows serendipity. I exchanged banter with the team, and thanked them again for the timely escalation.
I am thankful for teammates that notice symptoms, and speak up promptly. They are the keys to second chances.