On Complexity

One of the reasons complexity is difficult to spot is that people are remarkably adaptable.

When a process breaks, someone creates a workaround.

When information isn't available, someone builds a spreadsheet.

When systems don't communicate, someone manually connects the pieces.

The work gets done.

Which can make it look like the system is working.

Over the years, I've worked with organizations across healthcare, government, technology, and hospitality. Despite their differences, many shared something in common.

The people inside them were compensating for complexity.

Managers spent time coordinating work that should have flowed naturally through a process.

Employees maintained shadow systems to track information that wasn't available where they needed it.

Customers navigated experiences that made sense internally but felt confusing from the outside.

The organization continued to function because people adapted.

That's what makes complexity so difficult to diagnose.

Human adaptability can hide poor design for a very long time.

In fact, some of the most complex organizations I've encountered appeared healthy precisely because the people inside them were working so hard to overcome the obstacles around them.

Which raises an interesting question.

When work gets done, are we seeing evidence of a well-designed system?

Or evidence of people compensating for a poorly designed one?

The answer often determines where improvement efforts should begin.