Category: Articles

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How Can We Solve Our Toughest Problems Peacefully?

For the past 15 years, I have focused all of my attention on answering one question: How can we solve our toughest problems peacefully?…

Fine-Tuning Your Causal Loop Diagrams—Part II

Distinguish Between Actual and Perceived Conditions Perceptions and reality often differ, and it is usually important to capture these differences in your causal diagrams. The…

Step-By-Step Stocks and Flows: Improving the Rigor of Your Thinking

The systems thinking community has always considered stock and flow diagrams to be important tools, and recognition of their key place in the…

The Process of Dialogue: Creating Effective Communication

Consider any complex, potentially volatile issue — Arab-Israeli relations; the problems between the Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians; the U.S. deficit, healthcare costs, or labor/management…

The Conversational Power of Mapping Our Mental Models

Suppose that I bought a $34 ticket to hear a concert and, on the way to the event, I lost the ticket. I…

Attention Not Energy

When you face something unpleasant, give it your attention but not your energy.” This is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever…

A Business Is More than a Balance Sheet

Teachers sit on the bleachers at town meetings watching the townspeople resist raising their salaries. The Dartmouth faculty complains to the trustees about the governance…

Shifting the Burden: The “Helen Keller” Loops

Most of us know the story of Helen Keller and have probably sympathized with her and her parents, whose actions to protect their handicapped daughter…

ithink®: The Visual Thinking Tool

We live in an age of spreadsheets. From tracking expenses to projecting future revenue streams, spreadsheet software packages have become an invaluable tool for many…