Make It Make Sense: The Observation Problem

I. The Observation Problem

If I am FSC, how can I act like it’s something else?

How do you measure something that you are inside of? The act of observing the system changes the system. You can't measure anything without interacting with that thing in some way. The observer and what’s observed can't really be separated.

There's a version of it in how I consult. And in my research. And (I've come to suspect) in how I've been running Final Stop Consulting.

For two years, I've been operating on a set of assumptions about those who observe me. I've been assuming they need some branded version of what I'm saying, and I've been assuming how I’m perceived in the first place.

II. The Friction of Me

Everyone wants change. Everyone wants their ugly problems fixed. Everyone does their best to fix whatever it is in the least intrusive way imaginable. Years later, the problem is still there, plus there are three new problems that came from the surface-level fixes.

Houses built on sinkholes, with no shortage of contractors willing to take the money and build that extension. This entire blog series explains why that happens (and how it becomes the only rational choice).

As nice as the money may be, that's just not what FSC does. In fact, that's the whole reason FSC even exists.

FSC just wants to fix the thing. Those of you that have worked with me (…for better or worse) know that I will absolutely take it to hell and back if the “fix” demands it. I will tear down the entire house, fill in the sinkhole, and rebuild. On time and under-budget.

I'll give you the math for the physics. I'll give you the physics for the math. I'll give you the framework for the Q4 rollout. I'll plan the Q4 rollout for the framework. I'll give you everything that you could possibly ask for, including way too many things you didn't.

Yeah, that sounds good, but that's where the friction lives.

Because then, the executive comes in to say “this guy is breaking everything.” Suddenly, the grant committee starts asking questions. Now it turns into politics and infighting. Now it's a mess. Now it's my fault that the consensus inertia showed up right on time in lockstep, not realizing that “fixing the problem” may require rebuilding the house. Now the problem I was asked to solve becomes the thing to protect.

I’ve talked about this type of Daisy Chain Effect. That's why I call it the terminal phase of complex systems failure.

III. What I See, What I'm Confused About, and What I Want

What I see

People walking past the Final Stop. People who look like they know where they're going. People who never actually ordered the Uber but got used to looking like they did. People like me, but just in a different way. Boardrooms waiting for the stock market to tell them what to do. Research fields waiting for the next grant cycle to dictate their values. Every individual privately knows the house is built on a sinkhole. Collectively, the system has abandoned its agency.

What I'm confused about

I'm honestly confused why “fix the problem” reads as “burn the house down” to so many around me. I'm confused why “that's just how it is” gets accepted as a valid response from people using my time and tax dollars. I'm confused why static shows up in the room when I do exactly what I was hired to do (while stating it the entire way through). And most of all, I'm confused why every individual agrees in private, but collectively, the consensus holds.

I'm not the smart one in the room. I'm not the one with answers everyone else missed. Everyone knows the answer already. When I push, I'm not pushing to “win.” I'm pushing because I came to fix the thing and I don't understand why fixing it isn't what we're doing.

What I want

I don't want the prestige of being somebody's guru. I don't want to lead you. I want you to lead. I want you to take your business back. I want you to take your scientific field back. I want a board, a department, a research team, a country — somebody — to operate with a purpose that isn't just a reaction to what we all saw coming.

And yes, I want your money. I'm running a business. Just not in exchange for another topical band-aid over a structural failure.

I made an entire company just to see if any of this was possible. That's how committed I am to this not just being more noise in a loud environment.

And I am accountable for all that comes with it.

IV. The Final Stop

The observation problem only resolves when both halves of the measurement actually meet.

My half is on the table.

Some of you have shown up. We've filled in sinkholes and rebuilt so many houses together — that work is the sole reason I'm still doing this. I know exactly how hard (and rewarding) it is.

I was wondering if more of you even wanted to show up. Now I'm worried that you don’t believe you can. Either way, I see a lot more out there, and I'm done sitting around at the Final Stop waiting to be found.

I'm pulling up and handing over the keys.

It’s time to drive.