systems-thinking - Concepts

Explore concepts tagged with "systems-thinking"

Total concepts: 29

Concepts

Business as a System - A mental model that views a business not just as a product or legal entity, but as an interconnected system of processes, channels, and components.
Butterfly Effect - Small changes in initial conditions can lead to vastly different outcomes in complex systems.
Chesterton's Fence - Don't remove something until you understand why it was put there in the first place.
Cobra Effect - When a solution to a problem makes the problem worse through perverse incentives.
Decision Hygiene - Systematic practices for reducing noise and bias in judgment without targeting specific errors.
Designing for Emergence - A systems thinking principle that recognizes emergent properties arise from deliberate design choices that enable rather than dictate outcomes.
Desire Path - An unplanned trail formed by people or animals taking the path they naturally prefer, rather than the designed route.
Domino Effect - A chain reaction where one event triggers a sequence of similar or related events.
Entropy - Systems naturally tend toward disorder; maintaining order requires constant energy input.
Failure Analysis - Systematic examination of failures to understand causes and prevent recurrence.
Gall's Law - Complex systems that work evolved from simple systems that worked.
Identifying System Constraints - Practical techniques for discovering bottlenecks and limiting factors in any system, enabling targeted improvements where they matter most.
Incentives - People respond to rewards and punishments; understanding incentive structures explains much of human behavior.
Leverage Points - Places to intervene in systems where small changes can produce large effects.
Leverage - Using small inputs to generate outsized outputs through the strategic application of force multipliers.
Path Dependence - The phenomenon where history and early choices constrain or determine later possibilities.
Personal Organization System Principles - Five key principles for building effective personal organization systems: safety, holistic design, life integration, simplicity, and agility.
Key Principles of a Good Personal Organization System - Five essential principles for building an effective personal organization system: safety, holism, integration, simplicity, and agility.
Process vs State Knowledge - Distinguishing between knowing how things work (process) versus knowing what the current state is.
Red Queen Effect - You must keep running (adapting and improving) just to maintain your relative position in a competitive environment.
Second-Order Effects - The indirect consequences that result from the immediate outcomes of our decisions and actions.
Second-Order Thinking - Considering the consequences of consequences before making decisions.
Skin in the Game - Having personal stake in outcomes leads to better decision-making and ensures accountability.
Streisand Effect - Attempting to hide or suppress information often increases its spread.
System Optimization Principle - The principle that optimal systems minimize both energy expenditure and entropy, avoiding waste while maintaining reliability and order.
System Trashing - When a system is overloaded and spends more time managing itself than doing useful work.
Tragedy of the Commons - Individual rational self-interest can lead to collective ruin of shared resources.
Virtuous Cycle vs Vicious Cycle - Self-reinforcing feedback loops that spiral upward (virtuous) or downward (vicious).
Win-Win-Win Method - An extended negotiation approach that benefits not just the parties involved but also the broader community or environment.

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