Instead of demanding more effort, we should build better systems
Hi!
Proofreading has always been one of my weaknesses. I could always try to "be more careful", spending more time to check again and again, but errors still occur. Eventually I found a smarter approach, to read documents backwards. Within one pass I would catch most errors. It might not be perfect, but at least I feel assured there has been a certain degree of care, with far less time spent.
We are often told to work harder, to put in more effort. Less often are we taught to design better systems to achieve our goals. Applying more force, throwing more hours at a problem, or ignoring side effects can improve results, but often with diminishing returns. Worse still, there is often uncertainty over those results. In contrast, applying a well-designed system can deliver consistently and more efficiently.
The current Covid circumstances highlight this effort vs system tension. The insidious nature of the virus has made this a crisis we cannot overcome by force of will. We cannot count on ourselves to be more careful, or to be stronger against the virus. A blunt approach, like eliminating all human contact , or worse, achieving herd immunity, would have even more disastrous consequences. The road to normalcy involves carefully adopting systems that can reliably reduce the risks.
Whenever we tell someone to work harder, the blame is placed on the individual for coming short. For leaders, asking others to work harder is taking an easy way out. A leader's role is also to create conditions for success by putting a better structure in place. Sadly, leadership is sometimes measured more by the ability to crack the whip and squeeze out more effort from others.
Asking for more effort assumes that there is more to give. I think most people already put in as much enthusiasm as they already can, based on the incentives that are available to them. It is not so easy choose to study or work harder at-will. Conditions must change. Incentives must be adjusted. People must be inspired. Designing a better system will naturally lead to the right amount of effort being put in. There is a darker side to this too, where fear is an equally strong motivator for effort, and an easier one to apply.
Effort creates strain. Even where it produces results, throwing effort at a problem generates strain somewhere. It cannot be sustained in the long term. Working harder and longer will cause people to burn out. Machinery will break down. Societies might collapse. It is easy for an outsider, not feeling the strain, to ask for more. Effort motivated by fear, as mentioned above, creates the most strain of all.
Following a good system sometimes feels like it takes more effort. Have you ever tried to remember tasks in your head rather than write them down? Sometimes there is an aversion to applying a system. Perhaps it is laziness or inertia. Perhaps it is underestimating the amount of effort needed. It might be that there is a stigma towards an easier solution. We celebrate those who overcome extreme obstacles, and feel like we must swim against the tide to make human experience worthwhile. We console those who fail despite hard work, but judge those to fail because they tried a system that did not work. Even if much effort was applied to design it, it appears stupid and lazy to try and think of a solution.
Hard work is important. But, it is for ourselves to decide and choose to work hard. Demanding more effort from others is inefficient and strains our society. Reducing this strain would make society more productive overall. If anything, with less stress to deal with, it will be easier for us to be kinder to others.
For the lawyers who read this, I would like to do a short survey. Do you have any particular method or system when reviewing documents and contracts? If so, please reply and let me know what system you use.
Related articles:
Quality and effort - Seth Godin's blog
Observation after watching far too webinars during this circuit breaker:
Stay safe!
James
About Ideothetic Flow
Ideothetic Flow is a small passion project following my own thoughts about living life better and think of how we can be better human beings. Every 2 weeks I share something I find interesting, usually related to challenging common expectations or ideas.