Lessons throughout history inform us that cause precedes effect, and actions create results. Plato explained the principle of causality, saying “Every­thing that becomes or changes must do so owing to some cause; for nothing can come to be without a cause.” In Codex Atlanticus Leonardo da Vinci wrote, “No effect is in Nature without cause; you understand the cause and you do not need any experience.”

And as every schoolchild learns, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” per Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion.

With such depth of affirmation around cause preceding effect, why do business leaders focus so heavily on analyzing their numbers—or focus on the effect instead of the cause? A recent conversation with a community bank CEO focused on his vision for the company. He opened the dialogue, saying he and his leadership team had put a lot of thought into where they want to take their bank, and the vision they committed to was to deliver top-decile return on equity and return on assets, as well as topline revenue growth: a quintessential example of focusing on effect, not cause.

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