A System Is What A System Does
Tools and Frameworks for Impacting “Broken” Systems
Many years ago, I put in place a knowledge system to support deeper learning. It's a tried-and-true system where all highlights and notes I take across any medium are saved via Readwise and stored in my Roam Research universe. (If you're interested in learning more about this powerful system, throw a Like on the post, and I'll followup.)
Yesterday, a potent quote resurfaced from this knowledge system. It's from Anil Dash, an American technology executive, entrepreneur, activist, and writer known for advocating for a more humane, inclusive, and ethical technology.
"When trying to understand systems, one really eye-opening and fundamental insight is to realize that the machine is never broken. What I mean by this is, when observing the outcomes of a particular system or institution, it's very useful to start from the assumption that the outputs or impacts of that system are precisely what it was designed to do — whether we find those results to be good, bad or mixed."
In other words, a system is what a system does.
Over my years – through my MBA in Sustainable Management, and through ongoing research about systems change – I've cornered a few key truths about systems.
Top Ten Key Insights About Systems
Systems Produce Their Intended Results
That school grading system consistently producing lower scores for disadvantaged students? It's not broken—it's reflecting the implicit priorities built into its design. The Iceberg Model reveals how visible events (poor test scores) are just the tip. Below lurk patterns, structures, and mental models that must be addressed for real change.
Leverage Points Matter
A local coffee shop moves their tip jar next to the payment terminal and sees tips jump 30%. This tiny change had outsized impact because it hit a critical leverage point. Meadows' Leverage Points framework shows how changing information flows can create significant shifts without redesigning entire systems.
Feedback Loops Drive Behavior
Start saving monthly and watch motivation grow as your account builds—that's a reinforcing loop. Your thermostat maintaining room temperature? That's a balancing loop. Stock and Flow Thinking helps us see how accumulations (savings, temperature) and movements (deposits, heating) create predictable patterns.
Emergence Creates Complexity
No individual ant comprehends how to build complex colonies with ventilation and waste management—yet the colony achieves this through simple interactions. Gall's Law explains this: complex working systems evolved from simpler working systems, not from grand designs.
Resilience Requires Diversity
A diverse garden withstands disease better than a monoculture. If one species fails, others thrive. Requisite Variety teaches that a system's control mechanisms must match the complexity of potential challenges it faces.
Delays Create Instability
Adjust your shower temperature, wait too long, turn it more, and suddenly—scalding water! The delay caused overcorrection. The Law of Unintended Consequences shows how time lags between action and response create surprising outcomes, even in simple systems.
Boundaries Are Artificial
Addressing homelessness by focusing solely on shelters yields fundamentally different solutions than considering housing policy, mental health, and economic opportunity. Path Dependency explains how historical approaches constrain our problem definitions, making system redesign challenging.
Mental Models Shape Systems
Companies viewing employees as costs create vastly different management systems than those seeing employees as assets to develop. Chesterton's Fence reminds us to understand why systems were built before dismantling them—those "inefficient" employee programs might exist for good reason.
Systems Resist Policy Changes
When a city implemented congestion pricing, drivers changed routes instead of driving less, creating new traffic patterns. The Principle of Least Astonishment explains this: when systems change in surprising ways, people find workarounds rather than adapting as intended.
Optimization of Parts Suboptimizes the Whole
A sales team hitting targets by pushing unneeded products damages customer relationships and long-term success. Satisficing offers an alternative: finding "good enough" balances between competing goals rather than maximizing one metric at anothers' expense.
This systems lens changes how we approach seemingly intractable problems. When we understand that systems aren't broken but functioning exactly as designed, we gain the clarity to identify high-leverage intervention points and create lasting change.
What systems are you trying to change?