When a mess, which is a system of problems, is taken apart, it loses its essential properties and so does each of its parts. The behavior of a mess depends more on how the treatment of its parts interact than how they act independently of each other. A partial solution to a whole system of problems is better than whole solutions of each of its parts taken separately.

Russell L. Ackoff (1919–2009) American organizational theorist, consultant, management scientist

“The future of operational research is past,” The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol 30 (1979)