Thinking inSystems
A Primer
Stocks
The Foundation of Every System
A stock is the foundation of any system—an accumulation of material or information that has built up over time.
Feedback Loops
Feedback loops are the chains of causal connections from a stock through a set of decisions, rules, and actions back to the stock.
System Traps
Understanding these common system traps helps us avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Educate and exhort • Privatize or regulate the commons • Align individual with collective benefit
12 Leverage Points
These are places within a complex system where a small shift can produce big changes. Listed from least to most effective.
Constants and Parameters
Buffers
Stock-and-Flow Structures
Delays
Balancing Feedback Loops
Reinforcing Feedback Loops
Information Flows
Rules
Self-Organization
Goals
Paradigms
Transcending Paradigms
"Higher leverage points are more powerful but also more difficult to change."
The art of systems thinking is knowing where to intervene—and having the courage to intervene at the deepest levels.
IN SYSTEMS
System Resource
This book is the source code for understanding reality. Inject systems wisdom into your mental models.
Related Reading
The Fifth Discipline
Peter Senge
A practical guide to building learning organizations through systems thinking
Complexity: A Guided Tour
Melanie Mitchell
Explores emergence, self-organization, and complex adaptive systems
Limits to Growth
Donella Meadows et al.
Meadows' groundbreaking work applying systems thinking to global challenges