Cause for Thought explores the art and science of problem solving, asking why we often struggle to truly understand complex challenges and how we are best placed to turn those struggles into clear, actionable insights. Each episode blends classic problem-solving theories, real-world incidents, and candid personal stories, both successes and failures. Together, we unpack the ideas, tools, and mindsets that transform setbacks into opportunities. From finance to healthcare, manufacturing to everyday life, the Cause for Thought guests help you make sense of complexity, one episode at a time.
CPC2025 & Root Cause Analysis - How ready are you?
CPC2025 is coming.
As of today, firms have just 42 days. Are they really ready for what it demands?In Episode 9 of Cause for Thought, Jonathan Batchelor (CEO) and George Holman (Financial & Professional Services Lead) unpack what CPC2025 means in practice when it comes to Root Cause Analysis - not just on paper.
They explore:
Why Root Cause Analysis is becoming a regulatory expectation, not a nice-to-have.
How the right combination of software, training and consulting can turn compliance into competitive advantage.
Practical steps leaders can take to get ahead.
If you work in Financial Services, for a firm regulated by the CBI, this episode is for you.
17 Dec 2025
Cause for Thought Short - Episode Five
Welcome to Cause for Thought Shorts – brought to you by What Caused This.
In these bite-size episodes we’ll dive into examples and case studies of real-life Root Cause Analysis and problem solving.
In each short episode, we’ll look to cover situations, investigations, and impacts, with key learnings, best practice and useful tips woven throughout.
10 Dec 2025
Cause for Thought Short - Episode Four
Welcome to Cause for Thought Shorts – brought to you by What Caused This.
In these bite-size episodes we’ll dive into examples and case studies of real-life Root Cause Analysis and problem solving.
In each short episode, we’ll look to cover situations, investigations, and impacts, with key learnings, best practice and useful tips woven throughout.
3 Dec 2025
Cause for Thought Short - Episode Three
Welcome to Cause for Thought Shorts – brought to you by What Caused This.
In these bite-size episodes we’ll dive into examples and case studies of real-life Root Cause Analysis and problem solving.
In each short episode, we’ll look to cover situations, investigations, and impacts, with key learnings, best practice and useful tips woven throughout.
26 Nov 2025
Racing Ahead of the Problem: Utilising proactive Root Cause Analysis at The British Racing School
In this episode of Cause for Thought, we’re joined by the CEO of The British Racing School, Andrew Braithwaite, to explore how a small, high-performing organisation is applying Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to embed proactive problem-solving in a tight-knit team.
If you are a fan of horseracing and problem solving, this is the episode for you!
19 Nov 2025
Cause for Thought Short - Episode Two
Welcome to Cause for Thought Shorts – brought to you by What Caused This.
In these bite-size episodes we’ll dive into examples and case studies of real-life Root Cause Analysis and problem solving.
In each short episode, we’ll look to cover situations, investigations, and impacts, with key learnings, best practice and useful tips woven throughout.
12 Nov 2025
Cause for Thought Short - Episode One
Welcome to Cause for Thought Shorts – brought to you by What Caused This.
In these bite-size episodes we’ll dive into examples and case studies of real-life Root Cause Analysis and problem solving.
In each short episode, we’ll look to cover situations, investigations, and impacts, with key learnings, best practice and useful tips woven throughout.
29 Oct 2025
Root Cause Analysis and Regulation: How Firms Can Succeed Where Regulators Expect More
In this episode of Cause for Thought, @EdWells and @GeorgeHolman explore the relationship between regulation and Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
Across industries, regulators are increasingly expecting firms to demonstrate not only that they’ve fixed an issue, but that they’ve understood why it happened in the first place. RCA is at the centre of that expectation — yet its value extends far beyond compliance.
Ed and George's discussion is framed around two key points:
- Where regulators are setting clear expectations for RCA to be performed
- Why RCA is essential to sustainable implementation and remediation, not just problem fixing.
Regardless of the sector you are based in, this conversation offers insight into how a disciplined, evidence-based approach to RCA can build trust with regulators - and improve outcomes for customers, markets and firms alike.
Tune in to hear why RCA is not just a regulatory requirement, but a strategic advantage.
21 Oct 2025
Cause For Thought - Product & User Experience (UX) and the intersection with Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
In this episode of Cause for Thought, we explore a topic that impacts us all every day but we probably don't see or realise goes on - Product and User Experience - and how there are parallels with Root Cause Analysis.
We discuss using evidence and data (rather than biases) to make the right build and prioritisation decisions, why short-term solutions can in themselves help on the journey to long-term solutions, what we've been changing and improving recently with What Caused This and what users can look forward to.
https://whatcausedthis.com
Contact us here (https://whatcausedthis.com/contact/)
16 Oct 2025
Cause For Thought - From Crises to Consistency: RCA in High-Performance Sport
Every season, clubs and teams face injury crises and performance dips that derail their ambitions. Too often, reviews come too late, and solutions are fragmented.
For this episode of Cause For Thought we are joined by Dave Carolan, who has spent 30 years in Performance & Health roles within professional football.
We examine how RCA can provide a framework for understanding the deeper causes of setbacks, ensuring the basics are done consistently, and creating adaptable systems that prevent recurrence.
7 Oct 2025
Cause For Thought x Get Out Of Wrap - Why Contact Centres are such a rich environment for Root Cause Analysis
Contact centres are fast-moving, complex environments where problems often trigger quick fixes. But what if leaders could uncover the real drivers instead?
In this episode, Martin Teasdale from Get Out Of Wrap, joins us to explore how Root Cause Analysis (RCA) could enable contact centres to move past firefighting - to prioritising fixes, preventing workforce issues, driving continual improvement, and improving First Call Resolution.
Whether it’s outages, complaints, or hidden inefficiencies, this conversation shows why RCA is more than a process - it’s a mindset for lasting performance.
1 Oct 2025
Fixing Fast but Learning Slow - Why Incident Management Fails
When something goes wrong at work, we move fast: fix the issue, file the report, close the loop. Someone is banging the table, demanding answers.
But does incident management actually help us learn - or just let us move on? In this episode of Cause for Thought, we dig into the hidden flaws of traditional incident management: the search for a single “root cause,” the lure of human error, and the culture of box-ticking over behaviour change.
We explore how organisations can shift from managing incidents to learning from them - and what it really takes to make change stick.
25 Sept 2025
Breaking the Silo (Part 2)
In Part 2 of our Root Cause Analysis (RCA) series, Ed and George move beyond the value of diverse perspectives and ask: How do we actually use them to create change?
We kick off with a look at culture, specifically, how blame and fear can silently undermine psychological safety and shut down insight before it starts. We challenge the oversimplified cause & effect logic that often dominates RCA, and explore how a blame-free culture opens the door to deeper, more accurate analysis.
Then we dive into constructive dissent, how surfacing uncomfortable truths can lead to stronger solutions when leaders know how to welcome challenge without losing momentum. You'll hear practical techniques for moving from divergent thinking (many voices, many ideas) to convergent action including tools like cause mapping, prioritization frameworks, and testing solutions that ensure no perspective is left behind.
We revisit The Clone Zone, not as a warning this time, but as a guide: how to facilitate diverse teams without splintering progress. You'll learn how to frame disagreements as assets and avoid the trap of “false causality” through collaboration. We close with a powerful reminder: RCA isn’t just a technical process. It’s a cultural one. When you combine diversity, psychological safety, and structured methods, you don’t just solve problems, you solve the right ones.
If you missed Part 1, go back and listen to to hear why diverse perspectives matter in the first place.
25 Sept 2025
Breaking the Silo (Part 1)
In this episode, we explore the hidden risks of narrow thinking in Root Cause Analysis and why true collaboration goes far beyond simply adding more people to the room. We open with a bold question: When does collaboration add clarity, and when does it just create noise? From there, we unpack why complex problems demand diverse perspectives and what’s at stake when certain voices are excluded. You’ll hear real-world examples from frontline workers to the famous “Bezos empty chair” representing the customer highlighting the cost of blind spots when RCA is dominated by homogenous thinking. We introduce two thought-provoking concepts: The Clone Zone – the danger of teams that all think the same. The Professional Idiot – the unexpected power of the outsider or uninformed voice to break assumptions and surface new insights. You’ll learn why encouraging curiosity, constructive dissent, and even “silly questions” is essential to uncovering the unknown unknowns behind systemic issues. Finally, we reflect on a crucial distinction: Collaboration doesn’t mean consensus. It’s about making space for different perspectives without rushing to agreement or falling into groupthink. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we dig deeper into the role of constructive dissent and how to create a culture that challenges assumptions effectively.
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