There is no one formula that solves all challenges. Solid fundamentals may suggest the broad strokes of a strategy, but as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Few of us would want to force our business or our veteran intermediaries to conform to an idealized system that may be brilliant in the abstract, but blind to the often situation-dependent realities of how business actually gets done.

The best systems accommodate those realities and eliminate the obstacles between them. Growing pains and learning curves are held to a minimum. Efficiency should introduce itself like a wind at your back, leaving everyone with the feeling that their lives have gotten easier, not disorientingly unfamiliar.

In order to achieve that, your solution designer’s first priority must be to listen.