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Systems Thinking Research & Leadership Development Institute (STRLDi)

Building Long-Horizon Capacity for Systems Leadership & Strategic Stewardship

  • About The Organisation
    Learn about us. the programmes and how to reach us.
    • Personal Letter to Systemic Leaders & Institutions
      • ONE-PAGE CALL TO ACTION
    • STRLDi Organisation & Flow Configuration
    • About Our Work & STRLDi
      • My Journey and Development as a practitioner of The Fifth Discipline, my Milestones
      • The mistake we make with this work …
      • Misunderstanding The Disciplines: When The Fifth Discipline Is Adopted but Misaligned
        • Building the Second Arm of Humanity: When Learning Must Lead
      • Mastering the Architecture of Change: A Journey in Systemic Stewardship
      • About Peter Senge, the Author
        • Pre-session Pop Quiz #1
          • Pre-session Pop Quiz #1 Answers
    • Blog: The Work — Articles, Series & Ongoing Inquiry
  • Chapter 1: Introductions – Why Learning Organizations?
    • The History
    • How Would This Programme Work For Me?
    • Training Proposal Template
    • Programme Flow – A Framework for Developing Competencies in The Fifth Discipline (TFD)
      • STRLDi Introductory Session Briefs (1/2 day)
      • STRLDi Programme Introduction (2 days): Leaders for Learning Organizations @ Work
      • STRLDi Programme Advanced Beginner (3 days): Deepening The Systems Thinking Discipline Practice
      • STRLDi Programme Design: The CEO’s Table – Learning to Create Productive Team Conversations
      • STRLDi Programme Design: Leading the Leader
      • STRLDi Programme Design: The Five-Module Bronze Certification – Leaders for Learning Organisations
        • Programme Post-Graduate: Leaders for Learning Organizations @ Work
      • Reference Books & Videos
      • Programme House Rules & Room Setup
      • FAQs
        Frequently Asked Question by First Timers
  • Training — Learning to Work with Systemic Experiences
    • Chapter 2: The Practice at the Heart of A Learning Organization
      There are three parts to the works. Training. Research. Strategy Development.
      • The Seven Disabilities for Learning
      • The Three Core Learning Organization Capabilities
      • Practices from the Field
    • Chapter 3: “Seeing” Dynamic Complexity
      Modules 1 & 2
      • Why Do (some) Problems Defy, no, NOT Change?
      • Two ways
        • Dynamic Complexity: Why Persistent Systems Cannot Be Understood Through Detail Complexity Alone
        • The STRLDi Management Tools Framework
        • Systems Thinking – Understanding The Onion, Understanding Our World Today
          • How the Onion Was Discovered
      • Introduction to Systems Thinking
      • When we say solved, what does it mean?
      • The Laws That Govern Dynamic Complexities [NEW & UPDATED]
        • Law #1: Today’s Problems Come From Yesterday’s Solutions
        • Law #2: The Harder You Push, the Harder the System Pushes Back
        • Law #3: Behaviour Grows Better Before It Grows Worse
        • Law #4: The Easy Way Out Usually Leads Back In
        • Law #5: The Cure Can Be Worse Than The Disease
        • Law #6: Slower (and consistent) is Faster
        • Law #7: Cause and Effect are not Closely Related in Time and Space
        • Law #8: Small (consistent) Changes can Produce Big Results But the Areas of the Highest Leverage are often the Least Obvious
        • Law #9: You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
        • Law #10: Dividing an Elephant in Half does not Produce Two Small Elephants
        • Law #11: There is No Blame
      • The Language of Systems Thinking
      • Uncovering System Archetypes (Systemic Structures)
      • What are System Archetypes?
        • The Behavior of the Reinforcing Loop (RL)
        • The Behavior of the Balancing Loop (BL)
        • Accidental Adversary (AA) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • Drifting Goals (DG) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • Escalation (Esc) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • Fixes That Backfire Archetype (FtB) Systemic Structure
        • Growth and Underinvestments (G&U) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • Limits to Growth (LtG) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • Shifting the Burden (StB) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • Success to the Successful (StS) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • Tragedy of the Commons (ToC) Archetype (Systemic Structure)
        • How the Onion Was Discovered
        • A Discovery Pedagogy for Systems Thinking by STRLDi
    • Chapter 4: Understanding Dynamic Complexity
      Modules 3 & 4
      • Mental Models – Understanding Our System
        • Tracing the Lineage of Mental Models
        • What led Plato and Kanto to Their Ideas?
        • Reaction Against Behaviorism
        • What led Craik to His Ideas?
        • What led Argyris and Schön to Their Ideas?
        • What led Senge to Develop His Ideas on The Discipline of Mental Models
        • Scenario Planning as a Learning Discipline: From Arie de Geus to National Seeing
        • Are the Unconscious Stories We Tell Ourselves The Same As The Stories We Hide or Mask from Others?
        • #1: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Individual – Self-doubt and Imposter Syndrome
        • #2: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Individual – Repeated Career Dissatisfaction Syndrome
        • #3: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Siblings – Same Gender
        • #4: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Siblings – Different Gender
        • #5: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Parents & Child
        • #6: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Communities & Extended Families
        • #7: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Small-scale organizations
        • #8: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Large-scale organizations
        • #9: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Governments
        • #10: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Nations
        • #11: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Regions
        • #12: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Zero-Sum Assumption
        • #13: Testing the Limits of Each Thinking by Situation Series: Manipulation
        • Practicing Mentals Models – A Self Discipline
          • Scenario Planning as a Learning Discipline: From Arie de Geus to National Seeing
      • Team Learning – Seeing Our Systems
      • Personal Mastery – Envisioning Our Part in The System
        • Personal Mastery: The Most Misunderstood Discipline
        • Robert Fritz’s Core Concepts That Shape Senge’s View of Personal Mastery
        • Eastern Philosophy Insights That Shape Senge’s Personal Mastery Discipline
        • How to Navigate Creative Tension Without Collapse in Hardship
        • Vision is most essential in times of hardship – Nelson Mandela
        • Daily Practices to Navigate Creative Tension in Hardship
        • Navigating Creative Tension in Singleness & Fear of Intimacy
        • Navigating Creative Tension Without Collapse: For the Single, Long-Term Unemployed Entrepreneur
        • Navigating Creative Tension Without Collapse — As a Single Wealth Creator with Limited Means
        • Leading From Within: Daily Practices for Visionary Leadership in Times of Creative Tension – Climbing With Purpose – How to Rise in Your Career Without Leaving Others Behind
        • Becoming Who I Want to Be: Daily Practices for Teenagers Building Their Future
        • Your Practice Pathway: Personal Mastery Across the Five Disciplines
        • The Deep Resonance and Yet the Critical Distinction between Personal Mastery in Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline and Presencing in Otto Scharmer’s Theory U.
        • Daily Practice of Developing A Personal Vision Rooted In Purpose
        • Three Pathways of The Practice of Personal Mastery:
        • Personal Mastery for Collective Impact SoL Global Forum 2025 Podcast
      • Shared Vision – Envisioning the Whole
    • Chapter 5: Dealing with Complexity – Solving the Problem
      Module 5 and bridge to Research Works
      • Healing Vicious / Stubborn Problems
      • National Strategic Planning Systemic Guide (NSPSG)
      • Indicators of Progress within Organizational Systems
      • Indicators of Progress with Natural Systems (/ Environment)
      • Indicators of Progress – Economic System
      • Indicators of Progress for a Nation
  • Research — Diagnosing Persistent Systems
    • HAMMER IN SEARCH OF STUBBORN NAILS – ISSUES THAT HAVE RESISTED OUR EFFORTS TO CHANGE THE COURSES OF THEIR DIRECTIONS
    • Formulating, Analyzing, Operationalizing Strategies
    • A Showcase of Viewing Persistent Issues Through …
    • Community Speaks Series: Issues Spanning KSL1
      • When Communities Speak Unity – Korea
      • When the Community Speaks Population Size Changes
      • Ways Societies Can Be Organised or Self-Organise
        • Major Types of Socialist Thinking
        • What is The Optimal State of Each Societal Model That is Economically Practical?
        • What Does It Take For Each Social Organization To Succeed?
        • Southern Africa Development Scenarios
      • When the Community Speaks the Marriage Institution and Family
      • When The Community Speaks … Learning Beyond Education. Short Notes.
        • When the World Speaks … Africa & STEM
      • When the Community Speaks Global Education System Designed for Learning
      • When the Community Speaks Personal Career Choices & Personal Emotional Drives
      • When The Community Speaks Cracking the Botswana Productivity Code. Short Notes. Part I
      • When The Community Speaks Cracking the Botswana Productivity Code. Short Notes. Part II
      • THE GREAT LABOUR MISALLOCATION:
      • When the Community Speaks … Global Productivity System
      • When Matchsticks Meet Megawatts: Why STEM Matters in Regulation
      • When Community Speaks …. Transitioning from Hustling to Industry Requires More Than a New Dress Code—it Demands a New Way of Thinking.
      • When the Community Speaks … Gendered Violence
      • When the Community Speaks Crime
      • When the Community Speaks Corruption
      • When the Community Speaks Honest Media Reporting
      • Builders or Bystanders? Three Strategic Scenarios for Botswana’s STEM Future
    • Nature Speaks Series: Issues spanning KSL2
      • When Nature Speaks Eratic Weather Systems / Global Warming
        • What Nature Speaks Water Usage and Agriculture
      • When Nature Speaks Land Health
        • When Nature Speaks Plant Generation
          • National Agriculture Development Matrix
          • Comprehensive National Horticulture Production Strategy: From Farm to Fork to Export
        • When Nature Speaks Animal Generation
          • When Nature Speaks “wildlife”
            • When Nature Speaks … Wildlife. Be calm. Love an elephant. What everybody should know about these gentle giants.
            • Global Human-Elephant Conflict
              Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC)
          • When Nature Speaks … His-story of Cattle Production in Botswana
          • When Nature Speaks Land Health
      • When Nature Speaks Human Health
        • When Nature Speaks Communicable Diseases
        • When Nature Speaks Non-communicable Health Concerns
        • When Nature Speaks Rare Genetic Diseases
    • Economy Speaks Series: Issues Spanning KSL3
      • When The Economy Speaks Growing Economic Sectors
      • When Economy Speaks … The Global Diamond Market
      • When the Economy Speaks …. AU + AfCFTA Comparison with global regional economic cooperation platforms
      • When Economy Speaks … Regional Shared Production Planning – SADC
      • When The Economy Speaks Reversing National Unemployment Statistics
        • When The Economy Speaks ICT Graduate Unemployment Is Just the Tip of National Unemployment Iceberg
          • Unemployment – Understanding and Resolving Its Persistent Nature: A Systems Thinking Approach (Part 1)
          • Unemployment – Understanding and Resolving its Persistent Nature: A Systems Thinking Approach (Part 2)
            • Reinforcing Behaviour of causal structure influencing unemployment
            • Why the STRLDi Unemployment Study Is Different
      • Global Economic Sturctures
    • World Speak Series: Issues Spanning KSL4
      • When the World Speaks …. Governance BW
        • When the World Speaks … National Development
      • When the World Speaks … Superpowers
        • When the World Speaks China’s Path to Growth Part I
        • When the World Speaks … Palau Islands
      • When The World Speaks Wars
        • When the World Speaks Wars – Japan
        • When the World Speaks Wars – Israel-Palestine Conflict
      • When the World Speaks The Global Village
    • Chapter 6: Research Works- In-Progress of Sectoral / National / Regional / Global Systemic Relevance
      List and progress of Systemic Research Project Works
      • Global Sustainable Development Goals
    • Chapter 7: Publications – The Systemic Thinking Columnist Articles
      One by one these stories represent a systemic reality passing us by and often taking us on a ride with it, but like the boiled frog, without us realizing it is happening.  Now, learn to catch them as they are happening.
      • Global Systemic Data Organizing Body
      • National Systemic Strategy Development Programmes – A Reflection and Proposal for SoLs Around The Globe
  • Strategy Steward Labs — From Insight to Coordinated Action
    • Chapter 8: Learnings & Strategy Development Impact Study
      Monitoring the Development of Systemic Strategies on the globe, regional, sectoral and country.
      • STRLDi — PREPARATION STRUCTURE (COUNTRY → REGION → GLOBAL FLOW)
  • News & Events on The Fifth Discipline
    • News & Events: SoL Global Forum 2025
  • Contact Us
  • STRLDi Organisation & Flow Configuration
    • COMMAND & COORDINATION CENTRE (CCC)
      • STRLDi — MASTER TASK CHECKPOINT TABLE (FINAL, PHASED + TIMELINED)
      • Structuring the Work for the Command Centre: A 12-Month Development Arc, Support System and Regional Reach
    • STRLDi INTERNAL CAPACITY BUILD
      • Internal Capacity Build Joining Instructions
        • Participant Observation Practice
        • Orientation Session
          • Meeting Notes — STRLDI Session #2
          • STRLDi Meeting Session 04/26 Summary: 2026, May 6 (Wednesday)
          • STRLDi Meeting Session 05/26 Summary: 2026, May 12 (Tuesday)
          • Protected: STRLDi Meeting Session 06/26 : 2026, May 19 (Tuesday)
          • Meeting 07/26: May 31, 2026 – NPC Presentation Update and Next Steps for STRLDi
          • [Team] Protected: STRLDi Internal Capacity Build Session — Progression Alignment Note #1
          • [Team] Protected: Progression Alignment Note #2
          • [Team] Protected: Progression & Alignment Note #3
    • National Planning Commission (NPC) Presentation
    • Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) Office Presentation
    • AGRICULTURE SECTOR – BUSINESS BOTSWANA
      • AGRICULTURE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS BOTSWANA AND THE PRODUCTIVE ECONOMY

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Uncovering Systemic Structures

Diagram2
Mapping the short-term consequences of the managers’ actions

 

Diagram3
Mapping the longer-term consequences of the managers’ actions

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