Category: Articles

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Human Dynamics for the 21st Century

As a global society increasingly becomes a reality and people strive to come together across divisions of culture, religion, race, age, gender, and other…

Overcoming the Seven Sustainability Blunders

In response to growing environmental and social equity problems, hundreds of private and public “sustainable development” initiatives have blossomed across the globe since the…

All Methods Are Wrong. Some Methods Are Useful.

Interest in systems concepts is reviving and broadening. However, the sheer size of the field poses a dilemma for both newcomers and those who…

Appreciative Inquiry: Igniting Transformative Action

In the streets of Seattle, Washington, last year, the world witnessed a striking expression of social concern. An array of highly disparate groups —…

What Are Mental Models? Part 2

TEAM TIP Look for things that rise and fall in your organization, such as employee motivation, product sales, progress on goals, etc. What are…

Moving from Knower to Learner

Contrary to popular opinion, learning is not the process of merely accumulating more information. You have “learned” something only when you can produce a…

From Causal Loops to Graphical Functions: Articulating Chaos

This month we continue our look at Graphical Function Diagrams (GFD). GFD’s help us visually see how two variables are interrelated by plotting the relationship…

Balancing Loops with Delays

A simple balancing loop can be thought of as a basic control loop. In this type of feedback loop, any discrepancies between desired…

Creating Business Results Through Team Learning

As of 1993, Sigma Tech (a fictional name) was one of the most successful small corporations in the U.S. The company’s business was both…

Check In, Check Out: A Tool for “Real” Conversations

Your daughter was sick last night and you didn’t get much sleep. Tony’s car was rear-ended on the way to the office. Vivian has…