“Business and human endeavors are systems... we tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system, and wonder why our deepest problems never get solved.”—Peter Senge

Senge had it right. I have never, ever seen a systemic issue truly resolved with an isolated, tactical solution. Every year, for example, automakers spend millions of dollars on dealership personnel training. Yet nothing really changes.

The U.S. dealership culture is one of the strongest on the planet, and one of the most generally negative, for a simple reason: The financial incentive of an inventory push system paired with a virtually immutable dealer franchise system makes for both an unstoppable force and immovable object.

But when you replace the prevailing system with a better one, you change the world. At the risk of being repetitive, allow me to retell one of my favorite stories.

First, imagine the worst place you've ever worked. The darkest, most depressing, soul-sucking work environment you've ever had the misfortune to inhabit. Got it in your mind’s eye? Now, multiply it by oh, say, 100. That’s how bad the place I’m about to describe was. I know, because I spoke to people who were there.

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