HeyJaredClosest Point of Approach
This is a blog dedicated to discussing bureaucracy and how it fails people.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
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- Sep 23, 2026
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- Jul 8, 2026
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The Secret of My Success (redux) (opens the original)
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It is a truism that the purpose of an organization is to serve its customers. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we can divine the purpose of the organization by identifying who its customers actually are.This is true in a fractal sense. Within any organization, there are layers.At the front lines, there are those who deliver the product to the people who consume it. A company that makes personal computers, like Lenovo, has the layer of people who design and produce laptops, for examp
Unforgiven (opens the original)
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There is a distinction that rarely gets made explicit, because making it explicit would embarrass too many people.The distinction is between outsourcing work and outsourcing accountability.When a government agency hires a contractor, it will tell you it is outsourcing work. When a bank delegates compliance screening to a vendor, it will tell you it is outsourcing work. When a tech company holds a series of meetings with a coalition of non-profits to determine who should be denied services, it wi
Beerfest (redux) (opens the original)
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I recently read the book Think Twice by Michael Mauboussin. I recommend it. It is a good overview of the various biases that lead us to make poor decisions. There are a number of recurring themes that overlap with what we have written about here, including discussions about complex adaptive systems and their inherent unpredictability.One of the cases that he highlights is the Beer Game, a tool used to highlight the implications of failing to think properly about the way these systems work. Maubo
Auric Goldfinger (redux) (opens the original)
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One of the things we grapple with is the definition of bureaucracy. Sometimes when I speak with people about the topic, I hear a fervent defense of it, citing cherry-picked examples of efficient processes such as payment processing or inventory accounting. One key difference is that there is no political power in terms of status or influence attached to running these things; they are jobs to be done and nothing more.Subscribe nowMake no mistake: status is central to politics. This is true in a t
Mr. Creosote (redux) (opens the original)
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I came across an article in Scientific-American that struck a chord. It discusses inflammation.‘Inflammation has two faces. It can be short-lived like the swelling after a twisted ankle or a two-day fever when you get a mild flu, both part of the healing process. Or it can be a longer-lasting and more damaging affliction—chronic, low-grade inflammation that lingers in the body for years without obvious symptoms, silently harming c
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