For more than two decades, we have been working to help high consequence industries, from aviation and healthcare to spaceflight and nuclear power, to improve safety. We have integrated systems engineering, human factors science, and even the law into unique strategies that are among the best in the world. We’ve created some of the most complex socio-technical risk models the world has ever seen, we’ve taught industries how to investigate events, and we’ve pioneered modern notions of values-supportive justice and learning (Just Culture).
Today, we find ourselves drawn to the science of economics. We’ve come to the conclusion that the outcomes we create across society are outcomes of our choosing – whether by acts of commission or acts of omission. For most problems, it is not that we cannot find an elusive ‘cure.’ Rather, it generally comes down to the basic problem presented to the economist: how do we steward limited resources for the greater collective good? Perfection or utopia, the complete elimination of harm, is not in our future. That said, we can be better stewards of our resources today; we can indeed produce better outcomes.
We offer a simple proposition about the design of the world around us. The proposition is this:
Framed by the right systems of learning, the right systems of justice, we can design systems and help humans make the choices in those systems that produce better outcomes, at the individual, local, and societal level.
Around this proposition, we present a set of design laws that influence our ability to create the societal outcomes we desire. They are the laws you must take into consideration when you attempt to design social systems, whether you are a parent, a manager, a CEO, or a lawmaker.
As a company, we have committed ourselves to this proposition and its accompanying design laws. We build tools and offer assistance to those who are committed to building a better world. We want to celebrate those who get it right. Most importantly, we want to bring focus to those places in the world where we can make a difference.
