Sometimes you come across a fence on a field.

It serves no apparent purpose, so you remove it.

The next day a flock of sheep cross the hill and, unimpeded by the fence, wander across the field, into a quicksand swamp, and they all sink into the mud, dying a horrible death.

Walking up to a fence and removing it because it seems useless is first order thinking.

Second order thinking is asking yourself why the fence is there before you remove it.

Most of our problems in business come from us interfering in systems that we don’t fully understand.

Like manager hierarchy. Or private offices.  Or leave forms.

They seem dumb so you delete them.

No more managers. Everything open-plan. No leave applications.

And then the sheep wander into the swamp.

Don’t remove the fence unless you know why it’s there