By contrast, upstream work is chosen, not demanded. A corollary of that insight is that if the work is not chosen by someone, the underlying problem won’t get solved. This lack of ownership is the second force that keeps us downstream. The first force, problem blindness, means: I don’t see the problem. (Or, This problem is inevitable.) A lack of ownership, though, means that the parties who are capable of addressing a problem are saying, That’s not mine to fix.
