A preventable problem arises when organizational incentives reward creating and later fixing problems more than preventing them. The pattern is usually accidental: visible rescue work earns appreciation, while prevention remains unnoticed. section 6.2.2
The rewarded firefighter
Urgent requests, bugs, and nighttime server failures repeatedly land on a celebrated developer. They respond quickly, even when code quality suffers, while deeper causes such as recurring memory problems remain unaddressed. The organization rewards the rescue behavior, making prevention less attractive. section 6.2.2
The same pattern can reinforce harmful hierarchy. Teams may follow outdated advice from a higher-ranked expert despite recognizing its weaknesses, producing accidental complexity or bad models. section 6.2.2
