John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Smart Decision Making

Idea 63: How to tackle systems problems

Obstacle-type problems account for 80 per cent of the problems that leaders encounter, but you should also be aware of systems problems, the other 20 per cent. If you are a technical specialist, of course, those proportions are reversed and the majority of your working time will be spent on systems problems.

A system is a whole made up of integrated parts. It can be organic (your body), mechanical (your car engine) or a process (your system for billing customers). A systems problem is essentially a deviation from the norm. We can represent it visually by two lines, as in the diagram. The greater the difference between the normal performance (how the system is supposed to work) and the active performance ...