Guidelines for living in a world of systems

Fifteen practices drawn from systems thinkers.

Donella Meadows's framework, from Thinking in Systems, pp. 166 to 209.

Get the beat of the system
Watch behaviour and history before disturbing it.
Expose your mental models to the light of day
Make assumptions visible and invite challenge.
Honor, respect, and distribute information
Do not distort, delay or withhold it.
Use language with care and enrich it with systems concepts
Keep language concrete and expand its vocabulary.
Pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable
Be a quality detector.
Make feedback policies for feedback systems
Build learning into policy.
Go for the good of the whole
Do not maximise parts at the expense of the whole.
Listen to the wisdom of the system
Support the system's own self-maintenance.
Locate responsibility within the system
Send consequences to decision makers.
Stay humble, stay a learner
Experiment in small steps and embrace error.
Celebrate complexity
Value disorder, variety and diversity.
Expand time horizons
Watch short and long term together.
Defy the disciplines
Follow the system across fields.
Expand the boundary of caring
Include everyone the system connects.
Don't erode the goal of goodness
Keep standards absolute and weigh good news fairly.

From chapter: Part Three: Creating Change - in Systems and in Our Philosophy, pp. 166–209

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