When it comes to complex systems, things are seldom what they seem at first glance. Nowhere is this difficulty more evident than in the…

Language has a subtle, yet powerful effect on the way we view the world. English, like most other Western languages, is linear—its basic sentence…

Making individual mental models explicit is only one step toward fostering organizationwide learning. Since perceptions of reality can vary widely among different people in…

Imagine you were suddenly struck with a strange illness that affected your vision. While you were still able to “see” everything around you, somehow…

The adage “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” captures an old belief that something “known” is more valuable than…

As with the previous systems archetype that we discussed, “Fixes That Fail,” “Shifting the Burden” is about how the pressure of a worsening problem…

The parable of the blind men and the elephant illustrates how our individual perceptions (what Peter Senge calls our “mental models”) can lead to…

People who are raised in the industrial world and who get enthused about systems thinking are likely to make a terrible mistake. They are…

System dynamicist Barry Richmond was one of those larger-than-life characters whom one seldom encounters in this world. His incisive intellect, passion for building understanding,…