Thread by @stevebosserman

Intentional #LargeSystemChange begins with #Conversations That Matter (CTM) among all #agents in the system. Then they experiment with Ways That Work (WTW) and apply what they learn to make Changes That Sustain (CTS) ongoing #adaptation of the overall large system change process.

To improve the performance of a large system, honor its purpose and organizing principles then modify its rules and boundaries. To form an entirely different system, establish a new purpose and organizing principles then write the rules and set the boundaries to align with them.

For a #LargeSystem to improve performance, #ChangeAgents must influence those with the authority to modify its rules and boundaries to encourage all agents to honor the spirit of the system’s original purpose and organizing principles yet bend the rules and extend its boundaries.

If agents with authority to modify the rules and boundaries of a social system fail to act in accordance with viable adaptation strategies presented to them, they run the risk of other agents creating an alternative system with a different purpose and set of organizing principles

Whether the agents in a social system seek to tweak its performance or respond to an existential crisis, those agents with the authority to modify its rules and boundaries will do so only by managing resource inflows and outflows in an attempt to keep it viable in the short term.