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Your System Works. So Why Aren't They Using It?
You built the system. Filled the gaps. Made it clear.
Week one? Perfect compliance.
Week two? You notice shortcuts.
Week three? Back to the old way entirely.
Your first thought: "They're not following it."
Your second thought: "They don't care."
Your third thought: "I need better people."
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
You're Blaming Them Because It's Easier
Here's what you're not saying out loud: "I spent 10 hours documenting this and they're ignoring it."
That feels personal. Like rejection.
So you default to the easiest explanation: they're the problem.
Research on organizational change shows that when implementation fails, leaders overwhelmingly attribute it to employee resistance rather than poor design. It's called fundamental attribution error—the human tendency to blame character over circumstances.
You see them skipping steps and think: "They're careless."
The truth? Your system made it too easy to skip.
You see them doing it the old way and think: "They're stubborn."
The truth? Your new way hasn't interrupted the old habit.
You see them asking questions and think: "They're not paying attention."
The truth? Your instructions aren't clear enough.
Blaming them protects you from admitting the uncomfortable reality: the system you built doesn't work.
That's hard to face when you're already exhausted.
How Habits Actually Work
Charles Duhigg spent years researching habit formation for The Power of Habit. His finding? Every habit follows the same three-step loop:
Cue — The trigger that starts the behavior
Routine — The behavior itself
Reward — The benefit you get from doing it
Your team's old way of working? That's a habit loop that's been running for months or years.
Sarah's admin had a notebook habit:
Cue: Customer calls
Routine: Write everything in notebook
Reward: Information captured, call handled, move on
Sarah built a new system: log everything in the CRM.
But she didn't interrupt the cue. Customer calls → brain defaults to notebook.
The new system required her admin to consciously override an automatic behavior. Every. Single. Time.
Willpower is finite. Habit is automatic. Habit wins.
Duhigg's research shows you can't eliminate habits. You can only replace them by keeping the same cue and reward but changing the routine.
Sarah removed the notebooks. Physically. Gone.
Now:
Customer calls (cue) → nowhere to write except CRM (new routine) → information captured (same reward).
The habit loop stayed intact. Only the routine changed.
Adopted in three days.
Why They're Really Not Using It
Research from organizational change studies shows that 63% of teams initially resist new processes. Not because they're difficult people. Because resistance to change is a normal human response to uncertainty.
Here's what the research actually shows:
Fear trumps logic.
People don't resist change because they don't understand it. They resist it because change means loss of control, uncertainty about competence, and threat to what's familiar.
Your team sees your new system and thinks:
"What if I do it wrong?"
"What if this takes longer?"
"What if they realize I don't need to be here?"
Those fears don't go away because you explained the system clearly. They go away when the system proves itself safer than staying with the old way.
Trust matters more than the system.
Studies on change resistance consistently show the same result: trust in leadership is the single most determinative factor in whether people adopt new processes.
If they trust you, they'll try a clunky system and work through the friction.
If they don't trust you, they'll resist a perfect system because they assume you're making their lives harder for your benefit, not theirs.
Mark's service managers didn't trust that the estimate system would make their lives easier. They'd seen three "improvements" in two years that all added work without benefit.
So when Mark introduced system number four, they smiled, nodded, and ignored it.
Not because the system was bad. Because Mark hadn't earned back their trust yet.
Immediacy is everything.
Duhigg's research on Starbucks shows something critical: when feedback is delayed, behavior doesn't change.
Starbucks taught employees the LATTE method (Listen, Acknowledge, Take action, Thank, Explain) for handling difficult customers. But the training only worked when employees got immediate feedback on whether they'd used it correctly.
Six months later? Too late. The moment is gone. The behavior is already cemented.
Your system requires logging follow-up calls. But if no one notices when they skip it until the monthly review, there's no immediate consequence. The behavior doesn't change.
Sarah's admin skipped the CRM logging for three weeks before Sarah noticed. By then, it was habit to skip it.
When Sarah rebuilt the system to show a red flag the instant a call wasn't logged? Compliance went to 100% in four days.
The consequence was immediate. The behavior changed.
Five Reasons Good Systems Get Ignored (And How to Fix Them)
REASON 1: Your System Doesn't Interrupt the Habit
Mark's quality check system said: "Before marking job complete, take photos and upload them."
His techs kept marking jobs complete without photos.
Why? Because "mark complete" was the cue that triggered "move to next job" (routine) which delivered "job done, get paid" (reward).
The new system tried to insert itself in the middle of an existing habit loop. It failed.
Mark's fix: Made it impossible to mark complete until photos uploaded.
Now: Photos (new routine) are the only path to "job done" (same reward).
The system didn't fight the habit. It became part of the habit.
How to fix yours:
Map the existing habit loop:
What triggers the behavior?
What's the current routine?
What reward do they get?
Don't try to override it. Redesign the routine to deliver the same reward through your new system.
Remove the old option entirely if possible. Can't write in a notebook if there is no notebook.
REASON 2: Your System Costs Them Something
Sarah's first scheduling system took 8 minutes. The old way took 2 minutes.
Research on change resistance shows that people evaluate change through a loss/gain lens. If the new way costs more than it benefits, they'll resist it—even if it benefits the company overall.
Her admin kept "forgetting" to use it. Not because she was forgetful. Because every time she used it, she lost 6 minutes she could've spent on something else.
Sarah was furious until she timed it herself.
Sarah's fix: Rebuilt it to take 2 minutes. Same as the old way.
Compliance was immediate.
The brutal truth: If your system takes longer than the shortcut, people will take the shortcut. Every time.
How to fix yours:
Time how long the old way takes. Time how long your new way takes.
If your way is slower, it won't stick. You have three options:
Make your system faster
Remove something else from their plate to compensate
Accept that this system won't be followed
You can't force people to choose inefficiency. They'll choose efficiency every time, even if you tell them not to.
REASON 3: They Don't Understand What Breaks If They Skip It
Sarah's follow-up logging system had a field for call outcome: interested, not now, or not interested.
Her admin left it blank 60% of the time.
Sarah: "Just fill it in. It's one field."
Her admin: "What's it for?"
Sarah realized she'd never explained it. She'd documented the how but not the why.
Sarah's explanation: "We use that to trigger the next follow-up. 'Interested' gets a call in 3 days. 'Not now' gets a call in 3 months. 'Not interested' gets archived. If you don't fill it in, they disappear from the system entirely and we never follow up."
Her admin's face changed. "So if I leave it blank, we lose the lead?"
"Exactly."
Compliance went to 100% the next day.
People skip steps they think are busywork. If you haven't explained what breaks when they skip it, they think it's busywork.
How to fix yours:
For every step in your system, answer: "What breaks if they skip this?"
If the answer is "nothing," delete the step. It's noise.
If the answer is real, tell them. Out loud. Don't assume they know.
"If you skip this step, the client doesn't get their invoice and we don't get paid."
"If you skip this step, the next person has to redo the entire thing."
"If you skip this step, we're non-compliant and we can lose our license."
Make the consequence explicit and immediate in their mind, even if the actual consequence is weeks away.
REASON 4: There's No Consequence for Ignoring It
Mark's estimate system required flagging anything over $2,000 for owner review before sending.
His service managers sent them straight to customers.
Mark found out when a $4,500 estimate went out with the wrong labor code. Customer approved it. Job started. Mark lost $1,200.
Mark asked his service manager: "Why didn't you flag it?"
Service manager: "I forgot."
Translation: "There was no reason to remember."
For three months, skipping the step had zero consequence. So it became optional.
Mark added the consequence: "Any estimate over $2,000 sent without owner review gets kicked back. Job doesn't start until estimate is redone correctly and approved."
Suddenly, flagging for review was easier than redoing the estimate and explaining to the customer why the job was delayed.
The uncomfortable truth: If there's no consequence for skipping your system, it's optional. And optional systems don't get followed.
How to fix yours:
Build consequences into the system itself, not into your checking:
Can't move to next step until current step is complete
System flags the error immediately (red text, alert, email)
The mistake creates more work for them than doing it right would have
Don't rely on yourself to catch it. That makes you the consequence, which means you're still the system.
REASON 5: Your System Is Genuinely Bad
This is the one you don't want to hear.
Sometimes they're not following your system because your system sucks.
Too many steps. Too many tools. Information they don't have access to. Decisions they're not qualified to make.
Sarah's first scheduling system required:
Check calendar
Check tech availability (separate spreadsheet)
Check service area (paper map on wall)
Check customer history (CRM)
Calculate drive time (Google Maps)
Then book it
Time: 8 minutes per booking. Her admin books 15 customers a day. That's 2 hours just on scheduling.
The old way? Call the tech. "You free Thursday at 2?" Book it. 2 minutes.
Her admin kept "forgetting" to use the new system. Not forgetting. Actively avoiding a system that added 90 minutes to her day.
Sarah watched her do it once. Saw how clunky it was. How many steps required leaving one system to check another.
She was furious at herself, not her admin.
Sarah rebuilt it: Calendar now shows tech availability automatically. Service areas are color-coded on the map in the system. Customer history pops up when you click their name. Drive time calculates automatically.
Time: 2 minutes. Same as the old way.
System adopted immediately.
How to fix yours:
Watch someone actually use your system. Don't explain it. Don't help. Just watch.
If they're:
Switching between three different tools
Clicking back and forth to find information
Writing things down because they'll need them later
Asking for clarification on steps
Your system is bad. Not them.
Michael Gerber said it decades ago: "The system runs the business. The people run the system."
But only if the system is actually runnable.
The 2-Week Test
Week one is learning. Week two is habit formation.
If they're not using the system consistently by week three, the system is broken.
Not them. The system.
Sarah's rule now: "If I have to remind them more than twice in two weeks, I fix the system. Not them."
Mark's rule: "If everyone hates it, it's not a people problem. It's a design problem."
Stop trying to force compliance with a broken system. Fix it or scrap it.
When It Actually Is Them
Sometimes—rarely, but sometimes—it is a people problem.
How to tell:
Everyone else uses it, one person doesn't? People problem.
They use every other system except this one? People problem.
They can explain the system perfectly but still don't follow it? People problem.
The system is easier than the old way and they still skip it? People problem.
At that point, you're not fixing the system. You're having a performance conversation.
But check yourself first. Because 80% of the time, it's the system.
Sarah's Full Arc
Sarah built five systems in six months.
System 1 (quoting): Her admin used it for one week, then went back to the notebook.
Sarah's reaction: "She's not paying attention."
Reality: Sarah didn't remove the notebook. The old habit won.
Sarah removed the notebook. System adopted in three days.
System 2 (scheduling): Her admin "forgot" to use it constantly.
Sarah's reaction: "She doesn't care about improving."
Reality: The system took 8 minutes. The old way took 2 minutes.
Sarah timed it. Rebuilt it to take 2 minutes. System adopted immediately.
System 3 (follow-up logging): Her admin left fields blank 60% of the time.
Sarah's reaction: "Why can't she just fill in one field?"
Reality: Her admin didn't know what the field was for.
Sarah explained what broke if she skipped it. Compliance went to 100% overnight.
By system 5, Sarah stopped blaming her admin first.
When compliance dropped, Sarah's new question: "What did I build wrong?"
Usually, she found it in under 10 minutes.
She told me: "I wasted six months being angry at her for not following systems that didn't work. The problem was never her. It was always me building systems that fought against how humans actually behave."
Mark's Surrender
Mark built his estimate system. His service managers ignored it.
Mark's first thought: "They don't respect the process."
Three months later, after a $1,200 loss: "They don't respect me."
Then he read Duhigg. Then he understood habit loops. Then he watched his service manager actually try to use the system.
The system required flagging estimates over $2,000. But there was no flag button. They had to remember to email Mark.
And if they forgot? Nothing happened. Until something catastrophic happened months later.
Mark rebuilt it: Estimates over $2,000 can't be sent until owner reviews. The system literally won't let them proceed.
Compliance went to 100% in two days.
Mark told me: "I spent two years thinking they were the problem. They weren't. I built a system that relied on memory and willpower. Habits don't work that way. I was fighting human psychology and losing."
What Changes
When you stop blaming them and start fixing the system, three things happen:
1. You stop being angry.
You're not taking it personally anymore. They're not ignoring you. They're following the path of least resistance, like every human does.
2. Fixes happen fast.
Most system problems can be fixed in under an hour once you identify the real issue.
Sarah's fixes took 20-60 minutes each. Not weeks. Minutes.
3. They start trusting you.
When your systems actually make their lives easier, they stop resisting new ones.
Mark's service managers resisted system #4 because systems 1-3 had all added work.
System #5? They asked for it. Because system #4 had proven Mark was finally building things that helped them, not just controlled them.
The Truth
Your system works on paper.
It doesn't work in reality because it fights against:
Existing habits
Natural human behavior
The path of least resistance
The need for immediate feedback
Basic trust
Fix those, and the system works.
Ignore those, and you'll keep blaming people for system problems.
Greg McKeown said it in Essentialism: "Essentialists invest the time they have saved by eliminating the nonessentials into designing a system to make execution almost effortless."
Effortless. Not forced.
If they're not using your system, you built friction. Not a system.
Remove the friction. Watch what happens.
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