Recurring problems are rarely a shortage of capable people
Karamawari helps CEOs and leadership teams uncover what capable people have been missing, so costly problems stop returning.
When the same problem survives multiple fixes, the natural response is to try harder: another process, restructure, technology investment, consultant or transformation. But recurrence is evidence that something important remains unresolved. Karamawari works alongside the people who understand your organisation best to uncover the conditions, assumptions and behaviours influencing the decisions that keep recreating the problem. We make those hidden connections visible, help your people determine what needs to change, and build the internal capability to prevent recurrence: reducing avoidable cost, recovering capacity and improving performance without creating dependency on us.
Karamawari's Vision
A world where organisations stop paying for the same problems twice.
Karamawari's Mission
To help leaders and their people uncover what keeps costly problems coming back, change the conditions that recreate them, and build the capability to keep them solved.
Karamawari's Values
Curiosity before certainty
We resist the pressure to reach an answer before we understand the problem. We question what appears obvious, distinguish evidence from assumption and remain willing to discover that our first explanation was wrong.
Respect for capability
We know the people closest to the problem are capable and possess knowledge outsiders don't. Our role isn't to replace their expertise but to help reveal what has been difficult to see from inside the system.
Courage over comfort
Persistent problems sometimes survive because important things are difficult to say, challenge or change. We surface uncomfortable evidence respectfully and are prepared to challenge assumptions, including our own.
Evidence over opinion
Plausible explanations aren't enough. We look for evidence connecting conditions, assumptions, behaviours, decisions and impacts before we recommend you propose solutions.
Simplicity from complexity
Organisations are complicated enough. We help you identify the smallest number of meaningful changes capable of altering the conditions that recreate the problem rather than adding layers of process, governance or bureaucracy.
Capability over dependency
Success isn't making our clients dependent on Karamawari. We work alongside their people, transfer understanding and capability, and leave the organisation better able to solve difficult problems itself.
Karamawari's Beliefs
- Capable people rarely wake up intending to make bad decisions.
- Every decision has a context that made it seem reasonable at the time.
- Recurring problems survive because something capable of recreating them remains unchanged.
- Symptoms deserve attention, but recurrence demands deeper investigation.
- Assumptions should be tested against evidence, not strengthened by repetition.
- Another solution isn't the answer when the problem itself hasn't been properly diagnosed.
- Complexity should be reduced, not added to.
- Organisations should become more capable through our involvement, not more dependent upon it.
- Organisations should stop paying for problems they've already paid to fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the name Karamawari mean?
The name is derived from the Japanese word karamawari (空回り) which translates to “spinning without engaging” or “turning without traction.”
Karamawari, when applied in a business context, aptly describes problems that recur, not through sheer lack of effort expended on a solution, but effort and cost that is wasted because the solution fails to solve the problem.
The company was named after the very challenge it helps its client solve.
What kind of problems do you help with?
Karamawari helps CEOs, senior leadership and their teams understand why persistent problems keep returning. We work alongside your capable people to uncover the conditions, assumptions, behaviours, and decisions that continue to recreate the problem, so the organisation can stop applying temporary fixes and start changing what actually needs to change.
How are you different from a typical consulting firm?
Typical consulting often moves quickly from problem to solution: a roadmap, workstreams, operating model, benchmark, or implementation plan.
Karamawari starts earlier. We ask why the problem has survived previous solutions. Our focus is not simply what to do next, but why what has already been done has not changed the result.
How do you avoid becoming another consulting exercise?
We focus on persistence, not theatre. The central question is always: what keeps making this problem likely? If the work does not improve leadership’s understanding of why the problem keeps returning and what must change, it is not useful.
The aim is not more activity; it is traction.
Why have we struggled to solve this ourselves?
You may already have much of the knowledge needed to solve it. The difficulty is that the knowledge is usually fragmented across teams, functions, data, history, and lived experience.
Karamawari helps bring those pieces together safely and clearly. We do not replace your team’s judgement; we help sharpen it.
Will this make my team feel blamed or exposed?
No. This is one of the most critical points. The work is not about finding who got it wrong. It is about understanding why decisions made sense at the time and what conditions continue to recreate the problem.
Persistent problems are usually produced by patterns, not villains.
The aim is shared clarity, not blame.
We do not work with leaders who want to go on a witch hunt to make an exampel of or fire people who made honest mistakes.
Are you saying our previous decisions were wrong?
Not necessarily. Many decisions that contribute to persistent problems were reasonable in context. They were made with the information, pressure, incentives, assumptions, and constraints that existed at the time.
The question is not whether people were foolish. The question is whether those decisions still make sense, and whether the conditions that produced them are still shaping results today.
What do you mean by conditions, assumptions, behaviours, and decisions?
Conditions are the organisational and external factors surrounding the problem: structure, incentives, capability, governance, market pressure, customer expectations, and so on.
Assumptions are what people believe to be true.
Behaviours are the patterns of conduct those beliefs create.
Decisions are the choices, conscious or unconscious, that move the organisation from understanding to action.
Together, they explain why the problem keeps being recreated.
What is the first step?
The first step is usually a focused conversation to define the persistent problem, understand what has already been tried, and determine whether Karamawari is the right fit.
How long does a typical engagement with Karamawari take?
It depends on the complexity and sensitivity of the problem. But the aim is not to create a long discovery exercise.
Once a cost analysis is performed to provide a quotation, the enxt step is diagnosis
Karamawari is structured to move quickly to clarity while still going deep enough to avoid another superficial answer.
For many CEOs, the best starting point is a short, senior-led engagement focused on one persistent problem.
Do you provide recommendations or just diagnosis?
The work must lead to action. But Karamawari’s view is that action taken before the problem is properly understood often creates temporary relief rather than lasting resolution.
We first help leadership understand what keeps recreating the problem, then identify what must change to stop it returning.
Karamamwari will not recommend nor develop a solution but opting for the solution guidance engagement, Karamawari will provide workshops to ensure the solution you develop will solve the problem. This is crucial, as client developed solutions have better buy-in from stakehodlers
How much involvement will my team need?
Enough time to uncover the real pattern, but not so much that the organisation is distracted from running the business. The CEO and selected leaders are usually essential, because persistent problems often cut across functions. Others may be involved where their knowledge is critical.
The work should is always, respectful of time, and designed to extract insight without creating unnecessary noise.
No meeting or workshop will ever run longer than an hour because focus and input quality wanes after an hour, and we know you have other important things to do.
Will this slow us down when we need action now?
We know that speed feels responsible and pausing to diagnose feels awkward and slow.
It should not slow action; it should prevent wasted action. Persistent problems are expensive because organisations keep acting before they fully understand why previous action did not work.
A focused diagnostic can accelerate better action by making sure effort is aimed at what truly needs to change.
Why is it important the CEO be involved?
The CEO is the one resource who has accountability for the outpout of every business funciton. As recurring problems often extend across business functions, the CEO is the one who is most impacted by recurring problems.
In addition the CEO’s role is to sponsor honesty, create permission for the team to examine the problem properly, stay open to what emerges, and help convert clarity into action.
Karamawari works with the CEO as a partner, not as a passive recipient of findings.
How do you work with the leadership team?
The leadership team should be positioned as co-creators of clarity.
They hold crucial knowledge about how the organisation actually works.
Karamawari’s role is to help structure, connect, and challenge that knowledge so the team can see the full pattern together.
What will we get at the end of the engagement?
You can expect a clear explanation of why the problem has persisted, what conditions continue to recreate it, which assumptions and behaviours are involved, what decisions have reinforced it, and where leadership action should now be aimed. The most important output is shared clarity that leads to better action, not simply a report.
If you opt for the solution guidance engagement as well, Karamawari will also provide guidance to ensure the solution you develop will solve the problem as well as ongoing accountability sessions to ensure the solution is being implemented effectively.
How do you handle politically sensitive issues?
Carefully, directly, and with discretion. Sensitive issues are handled by focusing on the problem’s operating logic rather than personal accusation.
The question is not “who is at fault?” but “what conditions made this outcome likely, and what must now change?”
Can this be done discreetly?
Yes. Many persistent problems are sensitive, and early work can be done discreetly with the CEO and selected leaders. As clarity improves, the organisation can decide how broadly to involve others.
What if we discover something uncomfortable?
That is possible, but the process is designed to make uncomfortable insight usable rather than destabilising. The aim is to understand context, not assign blame.
The organisation can then decide what to change with greater confidence and care.
What if the real issue is leadership behaviour?
Sometimes leadership behaviour is part of the pattern, just as incentives, structures, processes, measures, or external pressures may be.
The point is not to personalise the problem. It is to understand how leadership signals, expectations, reactions, and priorities shape organisational behaviour. That can be examined constructively if the work is framed around results and shared learning.
What if the problem is cultural?
Culture is often where persistent problems become visible, but it is rarely useful to stop at “culture” as the explanation.
Karamawari looks at the conditions that produce the behaviours people call culture: incentives, authority, accountability, communication, trust, risk, pressure, history, and leadership signals. Culture becomes practical when it is connected to decisions and results.
What if we already know the problem?
If the problem is still returning, the current explanation may be incomplete. Knowing the symptom is not the same as understanding what keeps producing it.
Karamawari helps test whether the accepted explanation is sufficient, and where it may be missing the conditions that keep the problem alive.
What if we have already used consultants on this?
That is often exactly when Karamawari is most relevant. If previous consulting work produced recommendations, roadmaps, or initiatives but the problem persisted, the question becomes: why did those actions not change the result?
Karamawari helps examine the survival of the problem, not simply redesign another seemingly plausible but ineffective solution.
How do we know this will not just produce another report?
The value is not the report. The value is the clarity, alignment, and changed decision-making it enables. Any written output should serve that purpose.
Karamawari’s work should help leadership understand what keeps recreating the problem and what now needs to change.
How do you measure success?
Success can be measured through clearer leadership alignment, a stronger explanation of persistence, reduced recurrence of the problem, better decision quality, changed behaviours, sharper priorities, improved performance indicators, reduced risk, efficiency gains, cost reduction, profit increases and increased confidence that action is aimed at the right cause.
The measure should be agreed upfront based on the problem.
How much does it cost?
The cost should be framed against the cost of persistence: money already spent, leadership time consumed, opportunity cost, risk exposure, employee fatigue, customer impact, and future cost if the problem continues.
Unlike typical consulting models which are time based and inclined to throw as many people at the engagement as possible, Karamawari’s commercial model is contained with as few people as possible, senior-led, and priced proportionate to the value of stopping the problem returning.
The cost of the engagement is determined from the cost establishment call prior to contract signning, so the value of the engagement and the cost are known upfront and there are no unpleasant surprises.
Is this only for organisations in crisis?
No. Karamawari is valuable wherever a persistent problem is limiting results. Sometimes the organisation is in crisis. Sometimes results are acceptable, but the CEO knows they are not the best results the business should be producing.
The earlier the pattern is understood, the less costly it is to change.
You can either engage Karamawari because you have a persistent problem, or you can be proactive and engage Karamawari to help you solve a problem the right way, the first time, so that it does not bacome a peristent problem.
What if the problem is not solvable?
Some constraints may be real. But persistent problems often feel unsolvable because the organisation has been solving the visible expression of the problem rather than the conditions that keep producing it.
The first step is to understand whether the problem is genuinely immovable, or whether the current explanation has simply run out of usefulness.
Every problem is solvable when you understand the underlying conditions that created it.
What is the biggest risk of not doing this?
The risk is that the organisation keeps spending time, money, credibility, and energy on fixes that do not change the conditions producing the problem.
The problem may fade temporarily, return later, and become bigger, more complex, and more expensive to resolve.
Why now?
If the problem is persistent, waiting usually allows the cost of recurrence to grow.
The problem may become more embedded, more normalised, more politically sensitive, and more expensive to reverse.
The best time to understand why a problem keeps returning is before another round of effort, money, and confidence is spent on an incomplete answer.
Will this create dependency?
The goal is the opposite of dependency. Karamawari helps the CEO and team build shared clarity and strengthen their own ability to recognise and resolve persistent problem patterns.
The best outcome is that the organisation becomes more capable, not more reliant.
What makes Karamawari credible if it is not a large consulting brand?
Karamawari’s credibility comes from seniority (we don't throw an army of fresh out fo university graduates at you), clarity of thinking, practical experience, discretion, and a method built specifically for persistent problems.
Large firms offer scale and familiar reassurance.
Karamawari offers focus: understanding why the problem keeps returning before more money is spent trying to fix it again.
What if the board asks why we are using Karamawari instead of a big firm?
The answer is that this is not a generic transformation or implementation problem. It is a persistent problem that has survived previous attempts to solve it.
Karamawari is engaged because the organisation needs to understand why the problem keeps returning before committing to another large program of action.
