In a small riverside town, a bystander noticed a disturbing sight: a person drowning in a fast-moving current. Without hesitation, a group of townspeople plunged into the waters and rescued the drowning swimmer.

As days passed, more people were spotted struggling in the water. The town, unnerved by the findings, organised a team of strong swimmers to act as lifeguards. They constantly patrolled the river and rescued those in danger. They became skilled at saving lives, and the town took pride in their heroic efforts.

However, the flood of people needing rescue kept increasing. The lifeguards were working around the clock, and the town was spending significant resources on rescue equipment and training.

One day, a visitor to the town observed the situation and asked, “Why are so many people falling into the river in the first place?” Curious about the answer, she decided to travel upstream.

There, she discovered a cliff with a beautiful view overlooking the river. Many people would come to admire the scenery, but the path was treacherous, and some would slip and fall into the rapid waters below.

The visitor returned to the town and suggested building a fence along the cliff’s edge. Despite initial skepticism, the town agreed to this experiment.

The result was transformative. With the fence in place, the number of people falling into the river plummeted. The town soon realised that preventing people from falling was far more effective and less resource-intensive than constantly rescuing them from the water. They began to look for other ‘upstream’ solutions to problems they faced.