What if we’re solving the wrong problems, and our solutions are actually making things worse? In a recent Fast Company article, productivity expert Ben Meer argues that good systems beat superhuman discipline, using a fascinating historical example. In the 1990s, caretakers noticed that the marble at the Lincoln Memorial was deteriorating much faster than anticipated. The culprit? Too much cleaning, thanks to an abundance of bird droppings. Metal spikes were proposed to deter the birds, but one biologist kept asking why. Following the problem down the food chain, he discovered that floodlights attracted midges, which attracted spiders, which attracted birds. The surprisingly simple solution? Turn the lights on a little later, avoiding the nightly midge buffet. Instead of treating the symptoms, they fixed the system.
Meer uses the lesson for personal productivity, but it goes much broader. In business, we often respond to challenges with more meetings, more training, or more effort, when the real problem may be the system itself. Meer suggests getting curious about root causes, building processes that support better outcomes, and making small, continuous improvements. It’s a reminder that learning isn’t just about acquiring new skills but also finding better ways to put them to work. We all know working smarter beats working harder. Maybe the smartest thing we can do is stop working on the problem long enough to figure out why it exists in the first place.