Identify system failure by the words never and always
Summary
- Identify system failures by looking out for the words 'always' and 'never'
Details
- For example: "I am always late fo rmeetings"
References
Quotes
Two key words for identifying system failures are always and never, as in ‘The invoices are always getting lost’ or ‘I can never keep up with my email’. Why are your invoices always getting lost and why can you never keep up with your email? – because you don’t have good systems for dealing with them – that’s why!
When you hear yourself saying something like this, a red flag should go up in your mind. You have a systems failure.
The characteristic of a systems failure is that it goes on and on producing the wrong result, hence the words always and never. It’s not a one-off mistake – it’s something which keeps on producing the wrong thing.