The Systems Thinking

Karl Weick and Sensemaking: How Organizations Interpret Complexity

Taylor Morgan July 9, 2026

Karl Weick's sensemaking theory explains how people and organizations create meaning from ambiguous situations. Learn the seven properties of sensemaking and why it matters for leading in complexity.

Systems Patterns

Limits to Growth Archetype: Why Success Stalls and What to Do About It

Taylor Morgan July 8, 2026

The Limits to Growth archetype explains why every reinforcing loop eventually meets a constraint. Learn its structure, examples, and how to respond before the slowdown becomes a crisis.

Systems Thinking Applications

Systems Thinking in Healthcare: Solving Problems the Medical System Cannot

Jordan Ellis July 8, 2026

Healthcare problems rarely have simple causes. Systems thinking reveals the feedback structures behind medical errors, patient outcomes, and burnout — and shows where real change is possible.

Systems Thinking

Causal Loop Diagrams: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mapping System Behavior

Jordan Ellis July 7, 2026

Causal loop diagrams are the core visual tool of systems thinking. Learn how to draw, read, and use them to map feedback structures and understand complex system behavior.

Systems Patterns

Reinforcing vs Balancing Feedback Loops: The Two Engines of Every System

Alexandra Sterling July 7, 2026

Reinforcing loops amplify change while balancing loops resist it. Together, they are the two fundamental structures driving behavior in every system. Learn to read them and use them.

Systems Thinking

Complex Adaptive Systems: How Organizations Learn to Evolve

Alexandra Sterling July 6, 2026

Complex adaptive systems are networks of agents that learn, adapt, and self-organize in response to their environment. Learn how this framework applies to organizations and why it changes how we lead.

Systems Thinkers

Russell Ackoff: The Systems Thinker Who Challenged Everything We Know About Management

Taylor Morgan July 6, 2026

Russell Ackoff was one of the most original systems thinkers of the twentieth century. His concepts of messes, idealized design, and social systems continue to challenge how we think about organizations.

Systems Patterns

Tragedy of the Commons: The Systems Archetype That Explains Shared Resource Collapse

Taylor Morgan July 5, 2026

The Tragedy of the Commons is a systems archetype describing how shared resources get depleted when individual incentives override collective wellbeing. Learn its structure and how to interrupt it.

Systems Applications

The Cynefin Framework: A Practical Guide for Complex Decision-Making

Jordan Ellis July 5, 2026

The Cynefin Framework helps leaders identify what kind of situation they face before deciding how to respond. Learn the five domains and how to apply them.

Systems Thinking

Meadows’ 12 Leverage Points: Where to Intervene in a System

Jordan Ellis July 4, 2026

Donella Meadows identified 12 specific places in a system where a small shift can produce big change. Learn what they are and how to use them.

Organizational Learning

Double-Loop Learning: How to Fix the Thinking Behind the Problem

Alexandra Sterling July 3, 2026

Double-loop learning goes beyond fixing mistakes. It questions the assumptions and mental models behind them. Learn how this framework transforms how organizations adapt and grow.