Applying Systems Thinking and
Common Archetypes to Organizational Issues

Module 6: Systems Archetypes

Implications & Leverage Points

"Fixes That Backfire"

Implications

The solution is often applied in haste to alleviate pressure the system cannot tolerate.

Because the fix works temporarily and the long-term negative consequences of applying it are not obvious, there is a tendency to apply more of the fix when the symptom recurs and/or to blame the recurrence of the problem on other external factors.

The fix usually addresses a symptom, not an underlying problem.

When the solution is designed, little time is spent considering its impact on other parts of the system or over a longer term, and these effects are not usually part of the measurement system.

The system is in the habit of focusing on short term, local relief of pressure and solution of immediate symptoms. It is not accustomed to considering the longer term and the underlying nature of the problem.

Pressures, beliefs, norms, culture, mental models, and other components of the system hold the short-term, local-thinking habit in place.


Generic Leverage Points

leverage


To manage or change the "Fixes That Backfire" dynamic:

  1. Point out the tendency to focus on immediate, local issues and solutions and to respond rapidly to external pressures. If you can, clarify the real goal with respect to the problem.
  2. Increase awareness of negative, long-term, unintended consequences of these solutions.
  3. If possible, identify and address the underlying problem rather than the symptom.
  4. If you must address the symptom, identify an alternative fix that doesn't make the symptom worse in the long term.
  5. If you must implement a short-term solution with negative consequences, try to apply the fix in a way that will limit these consequences, or do as little of the fix as possible.
  6. Find ways to measure the unintended consequences as well as the intended impact of your solutions.
  7. Use periodic "after-action reviews" to determine whether the fix had negative side effects - include input from those removed in time and space from the problem.