Long story but let’s just say that I am reminded today of William Edwards Deming’s statement that “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets“.
Every time I meet what to me feels like senseless bureaucracy, I am reminded that the system is in fact working perfectly, just not for me.
Psychologically it is also very calming and almost exciting because it means that I am not seeing the whole picture.
There are then questions to be asked, including most importantly “Who is the system benefitting?”
My contention would simply be that all public services and decision-making should be built around this core question.
It is important to unearth what group or section of society is benefitting.
You could also reverse the process by starting with the statement “We want the system to work for [this group]. What would need to happen for that to be true?”
