Up Streaming is a term being used more and more frequently. It effectively means reaching the source rather than treating the source.
I heard this parable recently at a Charity lunch. The story tells of three friends walking alongside the river who saw a group of young people swimming. The children were unaware that down stream was a waterfall, but the three friends immediately saw the danger.
One of the three jumped in and started to bring the kids to safety – the second started to build a raft to rescue more – the third however, ignored the children and set off upstream. What are you doing said the other two? We need to save the children! Disappearing upstream he said we need to stop the source or many more children will lose their lives.
The moral to the story is obvious; if we do not find the source of our problems, we could go on and on making the same mistakes. It’s a little like our Fitness Industry giving our customers more and more equipment and classes, but less and less of customer interaction.