Embrace your Journey #22

"Once we see the relationship between structure and behavior, we can begin to understand how systems work, what makes them produce poor results, and how to shift them into better behavior patterns. As our world continues to change rapidly and become more complex, systems thinking will help us manage, adapt, and see the wide range of choices we have before us. It is a way of thinking that gives us the freedom to identify root causes of problems and see new opportunities." —?Donella H. Meadows*

Have you been feeling kind of stuck or frustrated with serious problems to solve, not knowing where to look for alternatives? Are you aware that you may be limiting your choices just by the way you think?

As Donella (Dana) Meadows*, a great systems thinker, used to say, we have been taught to analyze and use our rational ability to trace direct paths from cause to effect, to look at things in small and understandable pieces, but we can complement that way of seeing and thinking with a more intuitive way, a way that allows us to stop casting blame and to see the system as the source of its own problems, and find the courage and wisdom to restructure it.

Yes, the systems thinking lens allows us to better understand our problems and identify where and how to promote positive change. It does offer us great insights and can be quite revealing!

Speaking of revealing, exactly 50 years ago Dana led a group of scientists from MIT in a computer modeling study, commissioned by the Club of Rome, which resulted in a report and later a book called "The Limits to Growth." They examined the five basic factors that determine and, in their interactions, ultimately limit growth on this planet – population, agricultural production, non-renewable resource depletion, industrial output and pollution. Although criticism was fierce then, the world has progressed fairly close to the "standard run" scenario they projected, and the result is not looking good.

As she later wrote, "growth has costs as well as benefits, and we typically don't count the costs -- among which are poverty and hunger, environmental destruction, and so on... what we need is much slower growth, very different kinds of growth, and in some cases no growth or negative growth."

Again as Dana used to say, systems thinking can help us see the alternatives better, but it is up to us to implement them.

Many attempts to implement fragmented solutions later, it is time to apply the systems thinking lens and welcome complexity!

As we celebrate World Ocean Day on June 8, how about integrating our approaches in a more holistic way, looking for the most effective leverage points to intervene? Asking ourselves questions such as: What are the negative reinforcing loops we must stop feeding? What are the balancing loops we could put in place? Are we pushing the leverage points, the points of power, in the right direction? What is the real purpose we are trying to achieve?

In closing, a final positive reality check from Dana: "We can't control systems or figure them out. But we can dance with them!"

Cheers,

Adriana Machado

Founder at Briyah Institute

Nature’s Magnificence reveals itself everyday. Despite having been captured in art and informed science throughout the existence of mankind, there is still so much more it can inspire. Nature connects art and science, from the ability to look and see all the way to the possibilities to innovate and regenerate.

Briyah Institute is happy to join forces with The55Project to create a series of dialogues called "Nature Connects Art & Science". After exploring the angle of health and healing in episode 1, episode two focuses on architecture and resilience.

Architecture has to do with designing structure. Resilience has to do with the ability to recover quickly from difficulties, elasticity, plasticity, which is a foundation of life. Structure and behavior! More and more we hear about "brain plasticity" -- which refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. More of the structure and behavior relationship! So how does nature connect art & science in relation to architecture & resilience? ?

Check what Alessandra Araujo , Mariana Montag , Wesley Kean and Adriana Machado have to say about it in this insightful conversation.

For those in or passing by Miami, the exhibit “Forest: Ancestry and Dystopia,” curated by Eder Chiodetto, is on view until July 16th, at Fundacion Pablo Atchugarry .

For those interested in learning more about biomimicry, check the following TED talk by Dr. Jacquelyn K. Nagel , a PhD in mechanical engineering who "believes inspiration through biomimicry can lead to realistic and feasible solutions using nature as a guide."

Transcending paradigms is the most powerful leverage point when intervening in systems, according to Dana Meadows in her book Thinking in Systems . "It is in this space of mastery over paradigms that people throw off addictions, live in constant joy, bring down empires, get locked up or burned at the stake or crucified or shot, and have impacts that last for millennia." "The higher the leverage point, the more the system will resist changing it."

Compliance is a well-known term in the business world. It has to do with the business' ability to operate. Governance is the appropriate practice to make sure businesses "walk the talk". Risks and opportunities can be better reviewed and acted upon by applying a systems thinking approach.

As we say it at Briyah, are you able to see the systems your organization is part of and look for the interconnections and patterns that will impact your decisions to navigate the complexity of rules and regulations out there at the same time that you choose to implement strategies that benefit people and planet?

Most organizations are embracing ESG, which stands for Environment, Social and Governance metrics and strategy. Some have been enforcing this vision and practices for a while now. Others are beginning their journeys as demanded by stakeholders, specially investors now.

New rules are being defined along the way. Are you aware of the climate-related disclosures proposed by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ? They seek to provide investors with information about the climate-related risks and opportunities, and are open for public comment amendments to SEC's rules under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) that would require registrants to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports.?

You may watch this webinar hosted by the American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) with The?U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Director?Renee Jones?to better understand the proposed?rules and make sure you have the right practice in place to comply with them.?They also welcome your opinion by June 17th .

As Dana Meadows also explains in her book Thinking in Systems ,"power over rules is real power" because "the rules of the system define its scope, its boundaries, its degrees of freedom." Leaders should consider engaging in the discussions that culminate in the establishment of rules as a very significant leverage point for intervention in systems. It is a common practice in organizations. Here again the bigger picture questions apply: What is the real purpose we are trying to achieve?

June 8th is World Ocean Day . As systems thinkers, we should hone our abilities to see the parts (the elements) and the whole, see the interconnections between the increased pollution in our oceans and the reinforcing loops of our behaviors and practices as a society. Moreover, we should ask ourselves: What is the purpose driving our actions?

Allegedly Canada proposed the concept back in the 1992 Earth Summit, later on a group of global partners launched a website to support event organizers worldwide, and in 2008 the United Nations recognized the date, generating more action around it, including campaigns to prevent plastic pollution and to advance solutions. In 2020 they launched a multi-year Conservation Action Focus, and now they offer many suggestions on how to take action .

As Dana Meadows writes in her book, "systems can change themselves utterly by creating whole new structures and behaviors." She goes on by teaching us that "the ability to self-organize is the strongest form of system resilience." So, what can you do from your leverage point to intervene in the system? Even if it is only by raising better questions, there is always a way to start, staying humble and staying a learner in a world of systems.

In case you are looking for ambitious initiatives worth supporting, take a look at the Galapagos - Costa Rica Underwater "Ocean Highway." This a migratory route used by millions of sea turtles and rays, not to mention all other forms of life involved! The long-term goal is to see the "ocean highway" run through Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica, creating an Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor between those countries.

In January, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso signed a decree officially creating the new?Galapagos ?Marine Reserve, expanding the total protected marine area in the archipelago by 45 percent, taking it from 51,351 square miles to 74,517 square miles.?A good example of leadership intervening in the system to create a positive balancing loop by making use of a powerful leverage point: rules. Congratulations to President Lasso and team for signing the Galapagos decree, and congratulations to all the Presidents and teams of the countries involved in creating the marine corridor!

For the list of 12 leverage points in their increasing order of effectiveness you may check the following article called "Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System" by The Donella Meadows Project's Academy for Systems Change .

Looking for further insights on how to apply systems thinking to work and life???Join us for the CEO Meet & Master Program . The next cohort will take place in October only, but you may already sign up to guarantee your spot or contact us to schedule an ad hoc workshop for your team at [email protected] . Take a look at what our alumni are saying about their experience. We look forward to seeing you there!

At?Briyah Institute? we bridge innovation, practice and purpose to inspire leaders to transform organizations co-creating an impact economy -- that which pursues financial returns alongside positive impact for people and planet.

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*Dr. Donella H. Meadows , Ph.D. (March 13, 1941 – February 20, 2001) was an author, environmental scientist, educator,?and an inspiring leader. A Pew Scholar in Conservation and Environment and a MacArthur Fellow, she was one of the most influential environmental thinkers of the twentieth century. After receiving a Ph.D in biophysics from Harvard, she joined a team at MIT applying the relatively new tools of system dynamics to global problems. She became the principal author of The Limits to Growth (1972), which sold more than 9 million copies in 26 languages. She went on to author or co-author eight other books, including?Thinking in Systems , from where the quotes in this newsletter were taken.