Places to Intervene in a System
(in increasing order of effectiveness) |
Theory
(Donella Meadows) |
Gardening |
Dance |
Family |
Business |
Conversation |
Economy |
Music |
Medicine
  |
Accounting |
Law |
Love |
|
| 12. Constants, parameters, numbers (such as subsidies, taxes,
standards) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 11. The size of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to
their flows |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10. The structure of material stocks and flows (such as transport
network, population age structures) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 9. The length of delays, relative to the rate of system changes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 8. The strength of negative feedback loops, relative to the impact
they are trying to correct against |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 7. The gain around driving positive feedback loops |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 6. The structure of information flow (who does and does not have
access to what kinds of information) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 5. The rules of the system (such as incentives, punishment,
constraints) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 4. The power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system
structure |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3. The goal of the system |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2. The mindset or paradigm out of which the
system - its goals, structure, rules, delays, parameters - arise |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1. The power to transcend paradigms |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
