This book provides a framework to help managers go beyond simply fighting fires every day
offering the tools to address the underlying causes of recurring problems and deliver long-term
solutions. The most obvious part of any problem is the pain it causes. The desire to end the
pain and find a solution - any solution - that will make it go away now is usually so great
that it blinds managers to the underlying systemic cause of the problem. The result is that we
'solve' the problem today and then it comes back again tomorrow or next week again and again.
We are only addressing the symptoms but never understanding the cause - like picking the flower
heads off weeds but not digging them out at the roots.Schaveling and Bryan offer the insights
and tools managers and leaders need to achieve a longer term and more effective approach by
stepping back and analysing the system as a whole. And at the heart of any system are human
beings - notoriously short-term and pain-averse creatures who will behave in whatever way
minimises pain today even at the expense of pain tomorrow. They show how to detect the behavior
patterns that have become engrained in the organisation and which underlie complex situations
so that root causes of problems can be identified. Once the system responsible for the problem
is understood smarter decisions can be made to devise interventions that solve the core problem
instead of wasting energy fighting the symptoms.
