Dear Reader,

Imagine a company where objects, seemingly with a mind of their own, mysteriously vanished or ended up in the wrong place. This was a daily puzzle that the employees, growing increasingly frustrated, had to solve.

Various teams were tasked with reuniting these lost items, but the endeavour always failed.
It was an exasperating cycle. Like many of us, the company’s initial response to complex issues was to add more teams and resources and to assign them to the problem. Yet, despite their tireless efforts, the problem persisted, leaving everyone feeling defeated.

Despite numerous attempts and many teams taking on the challenge, some items were always missing, and the problem persisted over time. It was found that in some instances, team A had an item of the pair. In contrast, team B had the other, and due to a lack of communication and task subdivision, they could not reunite them.

Yet the solution was far from what anyone expected. It wasn’t about more teams or intricate strategies. The answer was simplicity itself. All the remaining objects were gathered in one specific spot. Over time, through cycles and phases that remained a mystery, the objects found their mates and were reunited, bringing a profound sense of relief and renewed hope.

But this is not just a story about a company. It’s a strategy that transcends the corporate world. Honestly, there is no “company” here unless you were willing to consider my family “a company.” This is the strategy I’ve adopted at home for my own socks. Whenever a sock misses its partner, it gets placed in one designated spot. And like magic, sooner or later, the sock finds its companion. We did not try to understand the problem in its entirety. We skipped over all the complex dynamics, positioning ourselves downstream of the process flow.

Until next time, please remember that sometimes the best strategy is to wait for the problem to be solved after you set up the right conditions and avoid forcing teams (and family members!) to attend to pointless tasks.