People and System: a good system makes ordinary people perform at top levels

It is a well-known fact that South Korea's development, in such a short period of time after the end of the Korean War, was largely due to the quality and dedication of its people. Korean people made the economic and technological development we enjoy today possible. But developement lead by top performing smart people has human limits and we need something else to keep developing to the next levels.

Others developed countries, such as the USA, may not have experienced the same speed of development as South Korea's but they have something that took time to set up, after lots of trials and errors, a fantatic engine of growth called "system".

The strength of US democracy, civil society, market economy and even its military relies on a well-designed system that is working no matter who are working in it. In South Korea, we may have better and smarter people than the USA in all areas of human activity, but from my perspective and experience in those two countries, America has still a better system that makes ordinary people perform well and smart people perform even better. That is the naked simple truth we need to focus about.   

Indeed, a good system is what South Korea needs now to continue its durable economic and technological development. The era of the smart people and heroes is gone. We need a good, proven and durable system in public administration, justice, politics, welfare, education, just to name a few. It is totally inadmissible to change a system in education or health care each time that a new top smart guy take the reins of power.

The tendency to look for individual heroes is a problem that permeates the world of sports, management, politics and in fact everywhere people are involved. It is reflected in many misguided ideologies and management practices, which focus excessive energy on hiring stars and weeding-out mediocre and poor performers, and insufficient energy on building a great system that enables most competent people to succeed.

There are obviously huge differences in individual skill and ability in every occupation. BUT studies have shown lot of evidence that ordinary people can perform at top levels in a well-designed system, and even a superstar is doomed to fail in a bad system.

Sure, people matter a lot, but as Jeff Pfeffer puts it, some systems are so badly designed that when smart people with a great track record join them, it seems as if a “brain vacuum” is applied, and they turn incompetent. 

Well formulated systems can be essential for guiding societies toward affluence, justice, fairness, and progress.

The very best organizations have both smart people and well-designed systems.