WTF are Leverage Points?

Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world - Archimedes

Leverage points are places within a complex system (a corporation, an economy, a living body, a city, an ecosystem etc) where a small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything. Think of these points as a a secret code to unlocking change in the big machine we call "The World." These points were articulated by Donella Meadows who ranked them from least to most powerful, like levels in a game, in descending order - where the higher levels (.....6,5,4,3,2,1) offer bigger opportunities to influence change.

12. Numbers: Fine-tuning the Details

Adjusting numbers in a system, like emission limits, can make a difference, but it's often not the game-changer. It's similar to adjusting your budget or study hours; helpful, but there are bigger moves you can make.

11. Buffers: The Safety Nets

Buffers are like your savings account or the extra time you give yourself for a deadline. They're safety nets that make a system more resilient to shocks. Increasing these can provide stability, but again, there's more to the picture.

10. Physical Structure: Changing the Setup

This is about altering the physical or organizational structure, like improving public transport to reduce reliance on cars. It's like rearranging your life or workspace to be more efficient and productive.

Unfortunately this is where we focus most of our interventions 12, 11, 10...

9. Delays: Timing Adjustments

Reducing the lag in feedback loops can help a system respond more quickly to issues. It's akin to streamlining communication in a group project to make sure everyone's on the same page ASAP.

8. Negative Feedback Loops: Balancing Acts

Strengthening negative feedback loops helps keep a system in check, like putting a cap on rent increases to prevent homelessness. It's about finding balance, similar to managing focused work and play to avoid burnout.

7. Positive or Reinforcing Feedback Loops: Accelerators

Enhancing positive feedback can propel a system forward, like reinvesting profits into sustainable business practices. Think of it as using your successes to fuel further achievements and growth, e.g. investing profits in fuelling growth through market expansion and marketing etc..

6. Structure of Information Flows: Power of Knowledge

Who knows what matters. This involves creating data pipelines and also opening up information flows. Imagine most people in an org having access to a data dashboard that tells you how the business is performing on an hourly basis, where growth is trending and how each part of the business is contributing to the overall picture. Now imagine what this does to enable decision making across the board.

5. Rules: Game Changers

Changing the rules of the system, such as implementing a carbon tax or sugar tax, can lead to significant shifts. Or changing the grading system to better reflect actual learning and skills vs rote memory in countries like India. In business imagine if you could build cultures of meritocracy by moving to written documentation, recorded meetings, no probation periods, parental leave policies (not just maternity) and period leaves, hybrid working opportunities, secondment opportunities, and travel and study sabbaticals etc. effectively moving to at will employment where people opt into the vision and mission or the wicked problem to solve.

4. Self-Organization: Rewriting the Playbook

Allowing parts of a system to self-organize or innovate can lead to breakthroughs, much like startups disrupting traditional markets. It's about creativity and autonomy sparking real change.

3. Goals: Mission Critical

Shifting the goals of a system, from profit at all costs to profit and sustainability, can transform actions and outcomes. It's the difference between pursuing a career just for money versus one that aligns with a wicked problem you want to solve.

2. Paradigms: Pieces that form the Worldview

Surfacing and suspending the underlying paradigms, or belief systems (assumptions, values, conditioning, maps of meaning, heuristics - mental models), from which systems - problems, goals and vision arise, allows us to understand how the system comes together. Knowledge is power.

1. Transcending Paradigms: The Ultimate Hack

Questioning the very paradigms (assumptions, beliefs, maps of meaning - i.e. mental models) we operate under and being open to completely new ways of thinking and living represent the most significant leverage point. It's about realizing there's not just one path through life but many, and seeking those that lead to a more fulfilling, equitable, and sustainable world.

As you can see these leverage points range from simple things like changing numbers or rearranging stuff to more complex ideas like changing the rules or what we're aiming for. The simpler stuff is easy to do, but it doesn't make as big of a splash. The really big changes come from tackling the tough stuff, like the deep beliefs that shape everything we do, even though it's harder to deal with.

We can use these ideas everywhere – in how we live, in business, how we treat the environment, and even how whole countries work. It's all about being smart and ready to change things up for a better future. By figuring out these leverage points and using them, we can start a chain reaction of good stuff.

In Naval's words, whether it is to build a better foundation for your career, or in Donella's to doing good in the world - understanding leverage points helps us to think outside the box, make smart moves.

Self-reflection

Articulate a problem you are trying to solve re. your lifestyle, family, community or business. Now try to identify the highest leverage point you can to solve that problem :)