Editor’s note: This is episode two in the Respect for People series. Click here for episode one.

When we build any working system, we need to understand and appreciate how people naturally exchange information. They withhold some things, say some other things. Some of this is fear, some is etiquette, some is politeness, some is avoidance. Can we build systems to actually provide people with the information they need and the right triggers for action?

We were working with a startup with about 160 people. They were listing out the areas of their tech platform they wanted to reengineer. We laid out all the work that could be done and evaluated it for impact, effort, cost, and expertise.

We came up with a lot of results.

We came up with a direction.

But something didn’t feel right. So I drew a box and told them team (about 30 people) to put the stickies with the part of the system that scared them the most, made them lay awake at night, or that they knew would explode and bring the whole thing down one day.

The box soon had three stickies.

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