Does Anyone ACTUALLY Want More Efficient Systems?
Everyone claims to want better systems until those systems threaten their paycheck
Here's what I learned the hard way: people lie about wanting solutions.
They say they want efficiency. They complain about bloated processes and wasteful spending. They nod enthusiastically when you present a better way to do things.
But the moment your solution threatens their job security, they become your enemy.
I proposed a marketing system for Alpha Schools that would deliver better results with one-tenth the headcount. You'd think they'd be thrilled to save money and improve outcomes.
Instead, I encountered political resistance so fierce you'd think I suggested burning the building down.
Why? Because nine out of ten people in that department would become unnecessary overnight.
They don't want the best solution. They want career stability.
Dr. Alexander faces this everywhere. He builds refrigerators with better specs than anything Walmart sells. But Walmart won't stock them because they'd make every other refrigerator look obsolete—and Walmart has billion-dollar relationships with those existing brands.
So he goes direct to consumer, which means solving distribution, marketing, and customer service on top of just building a superior product.
This pattern repeats across every industry. Innovations die not because they don't work, but because they work too well.
Think about it from their perspective. If you've been doing the same job for five years, earning steady paychecks, building your identity around your role—and someone shows up with a solution that makes your expertise irrelevant—you're not going to celebrate. You're going to fight.
This is human nature, not malice. People need security. They have mortgages, families, reputations tied to their current position.
But it explains why most organizations optimize for employee comfort instead of customer value. Why inefficient systems persist even when everyone knows they're broken. Why consultants get paid millions to recommend changes that never get implemented.
The real lesson isn't about other people. It's about choosing your battles.
If the CEO isn't upset about wasteful spending, don't risk your position trying to fix it. If the system rewards mediocrity, either find a different system or accept that excellence isn't the goal.
Most organizations are not trying to be efficient. They're trying to keep people employed and comfortable.
Once you understand this, everything makes sense.
The solution isn't to keep banging your head against broken systems. It's to find what I call hyper-agentic organizations—teams obsessed with delivering value, where every role matters and everyone understands they're part of something bigger than their paycheck.
These organizations exist, but they're rare. When you find one, join immediately.
When you don't, stop expecting people to choose progress over comfort. They won't.
Build around this reality instead of fighting it.
Or better yet, build your own system where efficiency isn't the enemy of job security—it's the source of it.