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8 Why so?

Figure 4. Systemcraft. Why So? (Joyner, 2025)

Surfacing and challenging the usual explanations and narratives for this problem situation.

Round up the usual suspects

When we start inquiring into issues and problems, we meet with the well-worn explanations for complex societal and organisational issues. At the societal level, consider the struggle of young people to buy homes, a challenge often framed as the result of a profligate lifestyle and a lack of saving discipline (anyone for smashed avo?). At the organisational level, management often reacts to a decline in employee productivity with a stronger enforcement of performance management, without exploring what may be more structural conditions that shape productivity.

‘Why so?’ pushes past cognitive biases.

This tendency to quickly label and react can be a result of availability bias. In the organisational example, leaders easily recall anecdotes of individual underperformance rather than taking the time to analyse systemic trends. In the housing case, the ‘smashed avo’ became a well-recognised meme that we all easily bring to mind when voicing an opinion about the first home buyer.

A key insight from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011) is that many of these dominant narratives persist because they are products of this type of System 1 thinking; fast, intuitive, and often biased.

Kahneman’s dual-system model explains how people process information and make decisions:

  • System 1 (Fast Thinking) is automatic, effortless, and prone to cognitive biases. It relies on heuristics, or mental shortcuts, that help people navigate complex situations quickly but often reinforce simplistic and misleading narratives.
  • System 2 (Slow Thinking) is effortful, reflective, and capable of questioning assumptions, but it is cognitively taxing and often overridden by System 1’s quick conclusions.

Many dominant explanations for complex problems emerge from System 1’s preference for coherence over accuracy. These narratives persist because they provide certainty and simplicity, reducing cognitive load and reinforcing existing beliefs.

Examples

Examples of Fast Thinking Leading to Flawed Narratives

Housing Crisis: As above, the well-trodden narrative is that young people struggle to buy homes because they are financially irresponsible (System 1’s preference for simple cause-effect explanations).

Why So? forces us to consider structural barriers, such as intergenerational wealth disparities, wage stagnation, and housing policies.

Public Sector Bureaucracy: People (currently Elon Musk!) often assume inefficiency is due to too many lazy or incompetent bureaucrats. This is a System 1 shortcut; it ignores the complex policy constraints, regulatory layers, and political dynamics that shape bureaucracy.

Why So? helps surface these systemic factors.

Social Problems: Many assume poverty exists because individuals make bad choices. System 1 thinking defaults to personal responsibility, ignoring System 2 insights about structural inequality, policy failures, and economic forces.

Why So? prompts a systemic re-examination.

Subvert the dominant paradigm, resistors!

The Why So? phase of Systemcraft functions as an intervention, prompting System 2 thinking, which is slower, more deliberate, and more analytical. Russell Ackoff’s (1999) concept of challenging dominant problem frames is particularly relevant here. Ackoff argues that the way we frame a problem determines the kinds of solutions we pursue. A frame focused on individual responsibility, as in the housing example, pushes us toward solutions like financial literacy programs. These can be helpful, but they are ultimately limited because they don’t address the systemic issues that shape housing affordability. By challenging this frame, we open ourselves to alternative solutions that address the root causes; affordable housing policies, wage growth initiatives, and financial regulations that foster stability.

References

  1. Ackoff, R. L. (1999). Re-creating the corporation: A design of organizations for the 21st century. Oxford University Press.
  2. Joyner, K. (2025) Systems thinking for leaders. A practical guide to engaging with complex problems. Queensland University of Technology. https://qut.pressbooks.pub/systemcraft-systems-thinking/
  3. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Key Takeaways

So why ‘Why so?’

Leaders and policymakers often operate under extreme time pressure, making them susceptible to System 1-driven narratives that oversimplify complexity. Teaching them to use Why So? as a mental discipline helps them recognise when they are relying on fast-thinking biases and engage in deeper structural and systemic analysis that may lead to more sustainable ways forward.

Ultimately, “Why so?” is a call to interrogate the explanations we take for granted. It pushes us to explore alternative frames and encourages a more nuanced understanding of complex problems. By applying this question consistently, systems thinkers can reveal the often-hidden dynamics that keep systems stuck, opening pathways toward more effective, systemic solutions.

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Systems Thinking for Leaders Copyright © by Queensland University of Technology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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