Introduction
We humans, suffer the same weaknesses as other creatures: we have a strong will to survive. We really don’t have a high capacity for creativity. If we find a way out of one problem, we tend to try the same solution when we encounter a problem that looks similar to one that we encountered before.
The second weakness with our way of solving problems is assuming that the best way to resolve problems is to take the same way out that got us into the difficulty.
By applying systems thinking we will realize the validity of the following rule of systems thinking:
The Easy Way Out
The easy way out usually leads back into a system
Familiar solutions to apparently similar problems usually keep us mired in the same problem.
Adjusting tax rates to cure the “Social Security” problem eventually leads us back into the difficulty caused by the structure of this unsustainable “Ponzi” scheme.
Making significant structural changes to a poorly designed system will have more effect on eliminating recurring problems than making small changes to processes that only address symptoms.
Comment
We can attribute many business failures to not understanding this simple “law.” Many business managers do not understand the simple fact that as the world changes, the structure of their business must also change.
The business consultant Chris Argyris identified this same problem and referred to it as single-loop learning. The single-loop learner starts with an assumption that may work for a while. He assumes that if the system does not produce the desired results, they must try harder.
The double-loop learner, on the other hand, questions early assumptions and makes many changes as needed.
Businesses frequently look for the easy way out. They either adapt or fail. The market acts as a strict enforcer. The Government, on the other hand, being afraid of losing constituents, always takes the easy way out.
I admit that I benefited from the Government’s ignorance (consciously or not) of this “law.” The legislature continues to disguise the “Ponzi” called Social Security by perpetuating the myth of a “trust fund.” In truth, the SSA transfers money from current taxpayers to current Social Security recipients.
At some point, the government must eliminate the Social Security system.
Conclusion
Be careful of implementing solutions to seemingly familiar problems. The system producing patterns of behavior similar to those produced by another system in a different time and place may have a very different structure. These patterns may correlate with each other without having any causative relationship. Do what you must to understand the structures of the system in question before taking action.
The ease of action may act as a warning by itself.