The Paradox: You're surrounded by smart people. Your team wants to change. Yet nothing shifts.

This isn't a people problem. It's a system problem.

The systems we work within are invisible because they're the water we swim in. We don't see them until someone points them out—and even then, they're slippery to describe.

What maintains the status quo?

Systems don't change because:

• There's no incentive to disrupt them
• The people who benefit from the current system have power
• Change requires temporary discomfort (and we avoid that)
• We don't actually see the system, so we blame individuals instead

Smart people stay stuck because being smart doesn't make you able to see the system you're in.

The first step to changing a system is seeing it. Once you see it, you realize the people aren't the problem—the structure is. And structures can be redesigned.