Three ways people respond to a problem (other than solving it)

andsoitis

There’s a fourth: deny

0wis

Nice article, interesting to keep an open mind. On "No. 0002. Preserving problems", it can happen to people too, no need for a complex system at the size of a company. I have often noticed recognized experts keeping the root of the problem unsolved because it was justifying their position. I may even have been subject of this curse. As an expert, you may know the root cause but have no incentive to solve it and it can be harder to mobilize ressources to solve the root cause than to keep solving the superficial issue. It is management or outside help role to identify and push for solving problems at their root, but it takes time and dedication because of expertise. As most of the time, incentives explain nearly everything.

jagged-chisel

> … they inadvertently perpetuate the problem “Inadvertently”? Seldom.

cheschire

Seems related to the four risk management strategies: - Avoidance - Mitigation - Transference - Acceptance

MarkusQ

Three more common ways of responding to a problem: Weaponize it. Study it. Blog about it.

black6

The company for which I work seems to be run by engineers. When learning to be an engineer you're taught that doing nothing is always a valid option. In Army leadership courses we were taught that ANY decision is better than NO decision. My company is stifled by a bunch of engineers in leadership positions who always choose to defer up the chain rather than make a decision themselves.

IshKebab

The most common response I see is "unfortunately this problem is impossible for us to fix because I can't be bother.. err I mean because of these technical reasons. Yes definitely that."

functionmouse

reminds me of an old meme > have "problem"; don't care: no problem

rawgabbit

The "meta" problem is that political in-fighting usually results in local optimization everywhere. Various departments throw each other under the bus to steal budget/people/resources. When leadership finally decides to right the bus, they hire an outside consultant; this is an important signal to the departments to stop the nonsense and tell the consultant what everyone knows but doesn't want to talk about. Serious problems require serious solutions. It is much easier to say if Y department would give us X, then line go up forever.

blitzar

Not my problem - the best kind of problem.

didgetmaster

People often attribute the government's inability to solve a problem even after throwing billions of dollars at it; as a sign of incompetence. While there is plenty of incompetence within government; I think the 'Preserve the Problem' response is mostly to blame. If we 'solved' crime, homelessness, drug use, poverty, etc.; then budgets would decrease and political power would diminish. Those in charge of solving the problem often have the least incentive to do so.

josefritzishere

hug of death?

sharadov

The pushing problems around under the guise of solving them for political gain is what corporate and government malfeasance is all about. The better you are at the game the higher you climb!

throw4847285

There is a fourth that the author would never mention: Hire consultants about the problem

barrenko

The problems you have are solutions to the problems you don't want to admit to yourself are actually having.

PeterStuer

Somehow made me think of every 'modern' HR department.

llm_nerd

Good article. I think a lot of people in the software development field should ponder over "No. 0002. Preserving problems", because a lot of rhetoric is basically advancing this position. Software development traditionally is expensive, slow, adapts poorly, and so on. This worked in our favour as it gave us high paying jobs where we could always blame a framework, Microsoft, whatever, and estimate a week to move a button. These people are the ones who are the loudest at filling the silence with anti-AI propaganda because they desperately want to hold onto that problem.

aanet

One doesn't need to be a consultant to realize how people respond to problems (other than solving them). But it helps. Perhaps. Maybe even more so if you (=consultant) leave with just the recommendations, without actually implementing them. Which is what most of the Big 4 consulting companies do. (Guilty, to be honest. And that's why (partly) I gave up mgmt consulting) But it helps to understand where people are coming from to realize why the problems exist in the first place.

golly_ned

My favorite is ignoring or downplaying a problem. 95% of apparent 'problems' are best ignored in favor of solving the worthwhile 5%. Sometimes this means 'creating' a new problem by pointing to something unconsidered that's 10x more important.

throw9383848

>The most obvious example of how AI destroys the human ability to learn and think critically is its ubiquitous use in high schools and colleges. A study released in October 2025 found that 84 percent of high school students use AI to brainstorm ideas, edit or revise essays, and/or conduct research and find sources. Another 69 percent use ChatGPT to help with school assignments and homework . Perhaps I am not as smart as author, but how is "brainstorming ideas" doing the "destroys the human ability to learn and think critically"? It is just cooperative work! Rich kids have private tutors, and do the "brainstorming" all the time! I heard similar arguments when google search become widely available!