Could a Small Improvement Be Undervalued Because It Prevents Problems Instead of Creating Benefits?
Success is visible. Prevention often disappears into normality.
Yes. Prevented problems are difficult to appreciate because they never become visible events.
A transportation system upgrades signaling equipment and quietly reduces service disruptions.
The hidden mechanism is absence invisibility. People easily notice new benefits but rarely notice problems that never occur.
A micro-scene demonstrates this: passengers arrive on time for months without realizing that dozens of potential delays were avoided.
The paradox of prevention is that the better it works, the less evidence it leaves behind.
