Shifting the Burden

A systems archetype describing when a systemic problem is “solved” by addressing a symptom, diverting attention from the root cause and ultimately leading to unsustainable reliance on the symptomatic “solution” while the underlying problem gets worse.

Example

This is essentially the pattern of addiction, in which an individual addresses the symptom of feeling bad by engaging in behavior that feels good, while the causes of the bad feelings remaining unaddressed. But organizations can become addicted as well. An example I’ve seen on product teams is addiction to “heroics”. When a software system is frequently and unpredictably breaking, the symptomatic solution is to rely on the engineers or operations team to work nights and weekends to bring it back up. Teams even encourage such acts by celebrating them and instilling a perverse sense of pride in the afflicted employees. But this is unsustainable for at least two reasons: it burns people out, and never fixes the underlying causes of the instability, which entropy will inevitably make worse.

Structurally, systems of this type comprise two balancing feedback loops: both the quick fix and the fundamental fix reduce incidence of the problem. However, a reinforcing feedback loop emerges when continued reliance on the quick fix reduces investment in the long-term fix:

Strategies

• Don’t depend on heroism. It is a sign of systemic failure.
• Carefully weigh the costs of any proposed solution. “Easy” solutions often have hidden costs.
• Ask “why?” a lot. When a problem surfaces, it’s often just the tip of the iceberg, and until you understand the underlying causes of the problem, you’re unlikely to solve it sustainably.