Anyone who has studied systems thinking or looked at the science of complexity is familiar with the concept of leverage points. Â A leverage point within a system is a point where a little bit of action produces a disproportionately large amount of impact. Â For instance, if we have a fire in a room, it may take a lot of water to put the fire out. Or, if the room is airtight we can simply shut the door and the lack of oxygen can shut the fire down almost immediately. Â In this instance, the access to oxygen is a leverage point for the fire
Donella Meadows has done some great work around leverage points for complex systems. Â Besides identifying the 12 types of leverage points, Meadows has also determined generally which ones provide more leverage. Continue reading “Leverage Points and Performance Work”