The work of Problem Preventers is invisible, as they seem relaxed, go home on time, and need lots of time to think. They don’t experience much conflict as they already prevent the same. The invisibility of the work they do leads to a wrong perception of them.

Problem Solvers are not united towards any clear goal, but make use of the fundamental flaw in most organisations: Rewarding the solving of problems. They let things go wrong and then step in to fix them, creating visibility. This becomes a zero-sum game after wasting resources and energy.

Short-term benefits of firefighting (solving problems as they come) will be visible, but when a manager plays the long game, they think of the entire life cycle of the project, and the organization as a whole.

Preventing problems before they arise may not be as visible as solving problems,...