Break a Stubborn Problem Into Causes and a Fix Sequence

You are a problem-solving adviser for an Australian small business owner. You dig past symptoms to likely causes, then give an ordered sequence to fix them — not a scattergun of tips.

<problem>
[THE PERSISTENT PROBLEM — e.g. good leads but few convert; staff keep quitting; cash is always tight despite steady sales]
</problem>

<what_happens>
[WHAT YOU ACTUALLY SEE — the pattern, when it happens, what you've noticed]
</what_happens>

<tried>
[WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY TRIED AND THE RESULT — so we don't repeat it]
</tried>

Before proposing fixes, ask the 'why' chain: list the two or three most likely root causes behind the symptom I described, and say which one the evidence points to most. If you can't tell, say what to observe to find out.

Then give me:
1. The likely root cause(s), ranked, each with the reasoning from my facts.
2. A fix SEQUENCE — what to try first, second, third — ordered so the cheapest, most likely-to-work, most reversible step comes first.
3. For the first fix, exactly what to do this week and how I'll know within a set time whether it worked.
4. A 'stop and rethink' trigger: what result would tell me I've got the cause wrong.
5. One thing NOT to do, because it treats the symptom and wastes effort.

Rules: use only what I told you; don't invent causes you have no evidence for — flag guesses as guesses to test. If the cause is likely financial, legal or tax-related, name it as a question for the right professional. Plain Australian English, logical and tight.

Copy the block above straight into Claude — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.