Systems Theory is the study of abstract organization. It rejects the idea that we can understand a complex thing by breaking it into parts. Instead, it asserts that the essential properties of an organism, or society, or machine, are properties of the whole, which none of the parts have.
"A system is a set of things—people, cells, molecules, or whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time."
Why does a heart have valves? Why does a bureaucracy have forms? In systems, structure and function are inseparable.
If you want to understand "Why is this happening?" (Function/Behavior), you must look at "How is this built?" (Structure). You cannot change the behavior of a system without changing its structure.
The static arrangement of parts. The anatomy. The "What".
The behavior over time. The physiology. The "How".
Before a system can act, it must exist. Structure defines the limits of existence. It tells you what is "inside" and what is "outside."
"A set of interacting or interdependent component parts forming a complex/intricate whole."
"The delineation that separates a system from its environment."
"The context in which a system operates, providing inputs and absorbing outputs."
"The arrangement of systems in nested levels (Subsystems → Systems → Suprasystems)."
Structure is static; systems are dynamic. Life happens in the interaction between the parts.
"The memory of the system. An accumulation of material or information that has built up over time."
Think of a Bathtub. The water level is the Stock. It represents the history of the system.
Rule: You cannot change a Stock directly. You can't just "wish" the water level lower.
"Material or information that enters or leaves a stock over a period of time."
The Faucet (Inflow) and the Drain (Outflow). Flows are the action.
Rule: To change the system, you must find the leverage point (the Flow). Turn the faucet.
Amplifies change. "The more you have, the more you get."
Counteracts change. "The more you have, the less you get."
"The time lag between an action and its resulting effect."
"The measure of disorder or randomness in a system."
When structure and dynamics combine, something new appears that cannot be found in the parts.
"The principle that the same final state can be reached from different initial conditions."
"The principle that the same initial conditions can lead to different outcomes."
The immutable rules that govern how systems survive and fail.
"Ashby’s Law: "Only variety can destroy variety." To control a system, the control mechanism must have at least as many states as the system being controlled."
"Only variety can destroy variety." If the system you are managing (e.g., the Market) has more states than your control system (e.g., Management), you will lose control.
Because of delays and feedback loops, the obvious solution often makes the problem worse (e.g., widening roads to fix traffic).
Making a subsystem highly efficient can destroy the overall system. (e.g., A car engine that uses all the fuel leaving none for the AC or lights).
If you put good people in a bad system, the system wins every time. To change behavior, change the structure (the rules, information flows, and goals).
Systems tend to fail in predictable patterns called Archetypes. As a Sensemaker, learning to spot these is your superpower.
The Addiction
A problem appears. You apply a short-term symptomatic solution (The Patch). It works immediately, but it weakens the system's ability to apply the fundamental solution.
Example: Relying on consultants instead of training staff. Taking painkillers instead of physical therapy.
The Free Rider
Individuals use a commonly available resource for their own gain. The resource is not unlimited, but the feedback delay leads them to overuse it until it collapses for everyone.
Example: Overfishing. Too many meetings on a shared calendar. Shared dev environments.
The Boiled Frog
There is a gap between the goal and current reality. Instead of taking corrective action to improve reality, the system lowers the goal to close the gap.
Example: "We'll just ship with these bugs and fix them later." Tolerating slightly worse quality every month.
A breakdown of the core vocabulary used in this research, including why each concept is strategically relevant to the system.
A set of interacting or interdependent component parts forming a complex/intricate whole.
The fundamental unit of analysis. We shift focus from "things" to "patterns of interaction".
The delineation that separates a system from its environment.
Defining boundaries is the first act of design (Bounded Contexts). It defines what is controllable vs. what is context.
The context in which a system operates, providing inputs and absorbing outputs.
Systems cannot be understood in isolation. The environment determines the selection pressures (Evolution).
A self-contained system within a larger system.
Enables modularity and encapsulation. Allows us to manage complexity by hiding details.
The arrangement of systems in nested levels (Subsystems → Systems → Suprasystems).
Complex systems evolve from simple systems. Stable intermediate forms (hierarchies) are required for evolution to occur.
The memory of the system. An accumulation of material or information that has built up over time.
Stocks provide stability and act as buffers. You cannot change a stock directly; you can only change flows.
Material or information that enters or leaves a stock over a period of time.
Flows are the only "leverage points" to change a stock. To increase the water level (Stock), you must open the faucet (Flow).
A process where a system's output is returned as input, influencing subsequent outputs.
The mechanism of control and adaptation. Without feedback, a system cannot learn or stabilize.
The time lag between an action and its resulting effect.
The source of oscillation and over-correction. Delays make systems counter-intuitive because the effect is separated from the cause.
The ability of a system to maintain internal stability despite external disturbances.
The goal of most operational systems. Explains why organizations resist change (organizational immune system).
The measure of disorder or randomness in a system.
The universal adversary. Systems naturally decay. Maintenance (Negentropy) is the price of existence.
Negative Entropy; the work a system does to import energy/order to resist decay.
Explains why "doing nothing" is an active choice to degrade. Value creation is negentropic.
Properties or behaviors that arise from the interaction of parts but are not present in the parts themselves.
The "Magic". Why we build teams and platforms. The output exceeds the sum of inputs.
The principle that the same final state can be reached from different initial conditions.
Reminds us to focus on Outcomes, not Outputs. There are many ways to solve a problem.
The principle that the same initial conditions can lead to different outcomes.
Explains why "Best Practices" fail. Copying the structure (Spotify Model) does not guarantee the outcome (Culture).
Ashby’s Law: "Only variety can destroy variety." To control a system, the control mechanism must have at least as many states as the system being controlled.
The mathematical proof for why micromanagement fails (manager has less variety than the team) and why autonomy is necessary for scale.
The theory that parts of a whole are in intimate interconnection, such that they cannot exist independently.
The antidote to "Siloed Thinking".
The practice of analyzing and describing a complex phenomenon in terms of its simple or fundamental constituents.
Useful for debugging mechanism, but fatal for understanding purpose or behavior.
This system maps academic concepts to the primitives defined in this research document. This "Translation Map" helps you understand the origin of our terminology and identifying relevant concepts in the source material.
| Primitive | Source (Origin) | Term Mapping | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form Follows Function The guiding principle for our "Thoughts to Domain" pipeline. We do not build structure (Form) until we have evidence of need (Function). | Evolutionary Biology / Architecture Louis Sullivan (1896) / Cuvier Concept | "Functionalism" | Adopted |
| Hierarchy Explains why we capture "Topics" (subsystems) before "Concepts" (systems). You must build stable sub-blocks to build a whole. | The Architecture of Complexity Herbert Simon (1962) Paper | "Stable Intermediate Forms" | Adopted |
| System / Subsystem The foundation of our "Landscape Mapping" tool. Defining the hierarchy of containment. | General Systems Theory Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968) Book | "Open Systems" | Adopted |
| Feedback Loops The core of our "Event Modeling". Understanding how events trigger reactions that feed back into the state. | Cybernetics Norbert Wiener (1948) Book | "Feedback Control" | Adopted |
| Stocks & Flows Understanding that "Knowledge" is a Stock that can only be changed by "Learning" (Flow). You cannot edit the Stock directly. | Thinking in Systems Donella Meadows (2008) Book | "System Dynamics" | Adopted |
| Requisite Variety The theoretical justification for "Autonomy" in our team archetypes. The central controller cannot match the variety of the market. | Introduction to Cybernetics W. Ross Ashby (1956) Book | "Law of Requisite Variety" | Adopted |
| Emergence The goal of "Coherent Thought". We want insight to emerge from the connection of raw thoughts. | Complexity Theory Santa Fe Institute Concept | "Emergent Behavior" | Adopted |