The big idea
🔄
Some problems get worse when you fix them
Not through incompetence — through structure. The fix changes the system, and the system pushes back.
Problem Solving & Decision Making · Lesson 4
Systems Thinking
beginner⏱ 18 min · 7 cards
Try it
Trace the Consequence
“First responses arrive within an hour. Target met.”
Support is given a one-hour first-response target. Which is which?
Separate the intended effect from what actually follows.
Compare
Two kinds of loop
Reinforcing
Amplifies
Tap.
tap for example ↻
Balancing
Resists
Tap.
tap for example ↻
If your fix keeps getting undone, look for what is doing the undoing.
Key term
Why the obvious lever fails
Where is the real leverage?
tap to reveal ↻
Structure, not parameters
Adjusting a budget or threshold is easy and weak. Changing a loop, an information flow, or the goal is hard and powerful. The obvious levers are obvious because they are weak — if they worked, someone would have pulled them.
Nuance
Before you implement
Think like a Maester
Ask who adapts to this and what they will do. Systems are made of people, and people respond to what you measure rather than what you meant.
Quick check
What three components make something a problem?
You did it
Nice work
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