Teams' most dependable staff often conceal their broken processes

Many teams rely on one reliable person to quietly handle recurring failures such as broken invoice imports, faulty monthly reports, and stalled customer orders. That person's competence often keeps the underlying process problem from being fixed, because the cost falls on one individual rather than being visible to the organization. The problem becomes obvious when that person is absent, since the workarounds were never documented and exist only in their head. The article recommends asking staff what they repeatedly fix that should not need fixing, which surfaces hidden maintenance costs that add up over time. Writing down each recurring fix, with its frequency and effort, makes the cost visible so it can be weighed against the expense of a proper repair.