Don’t solve the problem, fix the system.

If you want to wake up on time, don’t set up a loud alarm early in the morning. Get rid of your phone at night, sleep early, and darken your room.

Systems are long-lasting, widespread, and interconnected. We can push back on them by just solving the visible problem, but over time, the system usually comes out ahead.

Take the example of employee turnover in an organisation. Instead of simply addressing the symptoms—like hiring more recruiters to fill vacancies or offering higher salaries to retain staff—leaders should look at the underlying system.

What are the root causes of high turnover?

Are employees leaving due to lack of career growth opportunities, poor management practices, or an unhealthy work-life balance?

Through research, these deeper issues can be uncovered and through applied behavioural science the right interventions can be made to bring in change.

Once we see the underlying system to a visible problem, we can change it.