Leverage Points
Last updated on February 14, 2022
http://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/
Places to intervene in Systems
(in increasing order of effectiveness)
Constants, parameters, numbers (subsidies, taxes, standards).
Regulating negative feedback loops.
Driving positive feedback loops.
Material flows and nodes of material intersection.
Information flows.
The rules of the system (incentives, punishments, constraints).
The distribution of power over the rules of the system.
The goals of the system.
The mindset or paradigm out of which the system â its goals, power structure, rules, its culture â arises.
Constants, parameters, numbers (such as subsidies, taxes, standards).
The sizes of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to their flows.
The structure of material stocks and flows (such as transport networks, population age structures).
The lengths of delays, relative to the rate of system change.
The strength of negative feedback loops, relative to the impacts they are trying to correct against.
The gain around driving positive feedback loops.
The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to information).
The rules of the system (such as incentives, punishments, constraints).
The power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system structure.
The goals of the system.
The mindset or paradigm out of which the system â its goals, structure, rules, delays, parameters â arises.
The power to transcend paradigms.
Notes mentioning this note
Complexity
Complicated and complex are often used interchangeably but they mean different things. A mechanical watch is complicated, an ecosystem is...
Complexity
Complicated and complex are often used interchangeably but they mean different things. A mechanical watch is complicated, an ecosystem is...
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14 Points for Management AI is about making better, faster, cheaper... Abstractions raise tempo Act according to actual circumstances Agile is the steering wheel Andon cords push decisions down the chain Architecture sells options Bayesian stats need simulation Bayesian Be decision-driven, not data-driven Be water Beware of coordination headwinds Beware the ambiguity effect Blend multiple command systems Build and sell Bullshit is more dangerous than lies to truth Business Carse Characteristics of Special Ops Christopher Alexander Climb the identity ladder Closed and open systems Complexity Concepts Content actionability can be a crutch Contradictions reveal answers Data Science Data science is not scientific Debt reduces optionality Decision contexts can be complicated or complex Decisions matter Deleuze Deming Do not tamper Don't forecast Don't look at the literature too soon Don't make single point forecasts Don't make type 3 errors Drucker Einstein's Dreams Equality and freedom are opposed Facts dont change minds Fast languages Fire bullets, then cannonballs Forecasting in human affairs is precarious Four laws of combat Foxes predict better than hedgehogs Funnel Experiment Girard Go beyond Excel Haikus Hourly billing punishes expertise How Complex Systems Fail How to Get Startup Ideas, Jared Friedman How to Measure Anything How to Pitch Your Startup, Kevin Hale How to Talk to Users, Eric Migikovsky How to do philosophy Huainanzi IOHAI Identifying the Centre of Gravity Illusion of objectivity In complex contexts, simulate In complex contexts, use AI as sensors Incentives matter Increase your tempo Inman's rules Intelligence Analysis Framework Jocko John Boyd Keep it simple Keep moving Keep your identity small Know thyself Leadership Level production Leverage Points Libertarianism Linear roadmaps are a lie Little big foreign phrases Little big phrases MBO ignores processes Maneuver warfare Manufactured fun is no fun at all Manufactured fun is not fun Marketing Attribution Marketing is design Messy thought, neat thought Military Model Questions vs Actor Questions Most things aren't trees Muddle through Name three alternatives Nations don't trade with each other, people do Never do great things Nobody knows anything Non-systemic thinking is LAMO Nothing in excess OKRs aid Einheit OKRs are not that great OODA Loops Omit needless words Operating on the front is the way to use... Oren Klaff Paul Graham et al People are not the problem Persuasion Philip Morgan Philosophy Pointers Points of views Policy Pournelle's iron law of bureaucracy Probes over experiments Productivity Products are functions Questions reveal Quotes Reality has a suprising amount of detail Recognizing the two times of schedules is central... Repeated games are different from single turn ones Rithwik Ryan Singer on Christopher Alexander Screen sharing is the modern Gemba Social networks are like ICOs Solutionism Sometimes daily billing makes sense Speed matters Start with action State of Play, 20 questions, VGR Stoicism Story Structure 101 Strategy Strong opinions, weakly held Subtract Sun Tzu Systems over goals Systems Team of Teams The five elements of an organization that can... The three languages of politics The use of AI can be strategic There are trade-offs everywhere There is a robustness-efficiency tradeoff There will be a last time Think in public Tiago Time Toyota Production System Trainability wins at scale Training helps in calibrations and predictions Use more Saxon words to be clear VGR Via negativa Wanting has layers What is Decision Engineering When AI met Strategy Wittgenstein's Ruler Words matter Write code, talk to users Writing heightens consciousness Writing YCombinator Startup School You need less data You need more data 14 Points for Management AI is about making better, faster, cheaper... Abstractions raise tempo Act according to actual circumstances Agile is the steering wheel Analysis and Synthesis Andon cords push decisions down the chain Architecture sells options Bayesian stats need simulation Bayesian Be a Greek, not a Babylonian Be decision-driven, not data-driven Be water Beware of coordination headwinds Beware the ambiguity effect Blend multiple command systems Build and sell Bullshit is more dangerous than lies to truth Business CRAP framework for dealing with workplace bullshit Carse Causality Characteristics of Special Ops Christopher Alexander Climb the identity ladder Closed and open systems Complexity Concepts Content actionability can be a crutch Contradictions reveal answers Data Science Data science is not scientific Debt reduces optionality Decision contexts can be complicated or complex Decisions matter Deleuze Deming Design Do not tamper Don't forecast Don't look at the literature too soon Don't make single point forecasts Don't make type 3 errors Drucker Einstein's Dreams Equality and freedom are opposed Facts dont change minds Fast languages Fire bullets, then cannonballs Forecasting in human affairs is precarious Four laws of combat Foxes predict better than hedgehogs Funnel Experiment Girard Go beyond Excel Haikus Hourly billing punishes expertise How Complex Systems Fail How to Get Startup Ideas, Jared Friedman How to Measure Anything How to Pitch Your Startup, Kevin Hale How to Talk to Users, Eric Migikovsky How to do philosophy Huainanzi IOHAI Identifying the Centre of Gravity Illusion of objectivity In complex contexts, simulate In complex contexts, use AI as sensors Incentives matter Increase your tempo Inman's rules Intelligence Analysis Framework JTBD by data teams Jocko John Boyd Keep it simple Keep moving Keep your identity small Know thyself Leadership Level production Leverage Points Libertarianism Linear roadmaps are a lie Little big foreign phrases Little big phrases Lore MBO ignores processes Maneuver warfare Manufactured fun is no fun at all Manufactured fun is not fun Marketing Attribution Marketing is design Messy thought, neat thought Military Model Questions vs Actor Questions Most things aren't trees Muddle through Name three alternatives Nations don't trade with each other, people do Never do great things Nobody knows anything Non-systemic thinking is LAMO Nothing in excess OKRs aid Einheit OKRs are not that great OODA Loops Omit needless words Operating on the front is the way to use... Oren Klaff Paul Graham et al People are not the problem Persuasion Philip Morgan Philosophy Pointers Points of views Policy Pournelle's iron law of bureaucracy Probes over experiments Productivity Products are functions Questions reveal Quotes Reality has a suprising amount of detail Recognizing the two times of schedules is central... Repeated games are different from single turn ones Rethink design thinking Rithwik Ryan Singer on Christopher Alexander Sailing over rowing Screen sharing is the modern Gemba Social networks are like ICOs Solutionism Sometimes daily billing makes sense Speed matters Start with action State of Play, 20 questions, VGR Stoicism Story Structure 101 Strategy Strong opinions, weakly held Subtract Sun Tzu Systems over goals Systems Team of Teams The Expert's Trilemma The five elements of an organization that can... The three languages of politics The use of AI can be strategic There are trade-offs everywhere There is a robustness-efficiency tradeoff There will be a last time Think in public Tiago Time To think is to forget Toyota Production System Trainability wins at scale Training helps in calibrations and predictions Use more Saxon words to be clear VGR Via negativa Wanting has layers What is Decision Engineering When AI met Strategy Wittgenstein's Ruler Words matter Write code, talk to users Writing heightens consciousness Writing YCombinator Startup School You need less data You need more data