Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System

by Donella H. Meadows

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Business, Science, Design, Education, Professional Development

21 pages, pdf

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Donella H. "Dana" Meadows was a pioneering American environmental scientist, teacher, and writer. She was educated in science, receiving a B.A. in chemistry from Carleton College in 1963, and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard in 1968. After a year-long trip with her husband, Dennis Meadows, from England to Sri Lanka and back, she became, along with him, a research fellow at MIT, as a member of a team in the department created by Jay Forrester, the inventor of system dynamics as well as the principle of magnetic data storage for computers. She taught at Dartmouth College for 29 years, beginning in 1972.

Reviews

[Erik Brickarp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Available online for free (http://donellameadows.org/archives/le...) and even though I think it's a bit hard to grasp this book/article without at least some understanding of systems thinking it's still a nice start to see if you want to read her ridiculously awesome book "Thinking in Systems".

[Micah Daigle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most highly concentrated packages of insight I've ever read. It's a powerful framework for thinking about every aspect of ourselves and our world.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I now want to read all of Donella Meadows' works!

[Ray Haleblian · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Further investigation of self-organizing systems reveals that the divine creator, if there is one, did not have to produce evolutionary miracles. He, she, or it just had to write marvelously clever rules for self-organization."

"When you understand the power of system self-organization, you begin to understand why biologists worship biodiversity even more than economists worship technology."

[Arabelle Sicardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this this every year lol

[Amin · Rating 5 out of 5]

همه آثار یک متفکر سیستمی مثل دونلا میدوز رو باید خوند. مخصوصا اگر با تفکر سیستمی و مدلسازی‌اش آشنا باشیم. این متن کوتاه گرچه در غالب یک مقاله با واژگان آکادمیک این حوزه نوشته شده اما به نظرم اصل مطلب دست‌یافتنی است. چطور می‌شود یک سیستم پیچیده چه فیزیکی و چه تکنولوژیکی یا اجتماعی را تغییر داد و چه تغییر در نقاطی در سیستم منشا اثر بزرگتری هستند. باقی حرفها از منظر مدلسازی اهمیت بیشتری دارد یعنی مثلا فهمیدن فیدبک‌های مثبت و منفی و برهم‌کنش‌ها میتواند درک بهتری از اهمیت این تاثیرات داشته باشد؛ از تغییر پارامترهای ساده در سیستم بگیر تا تغییر اهداف سیستم و مدلهای ذهنی.

نکته جالب برایم اینجاست که متفکرین سیستمی متعددی از پیتر سنگه تا فارستر و میدوز را دیده‌ام که در بحثهایشان وقتی پا را از مدلهای ساده فراتر می‌گذارند و به تغییرات بنیادی یا درک‌های کلی از سیستم‌ها می‌رسند به نوعی پای عرفان و رویکردهای کلی‌نگر را به موضوع باز می‌کنند و تکرار این مفهوم در متون مختلف حتما جای تامل دارد.

[Daniel Te · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a chapter in Donella Meadows's book "Thinking in Systems," but it was originally a short paper. The short paper stands well on its own, abstracting the 12 points in which systemic change can be affected, from least to most powerful. It's rather abstract, but it holds up well today as a result. I would recommend a read, if not reading the entirety of "Thinking in Systems."

[parth shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound, Practical, Poetic and, surprisingly jargon free! One of the best papers I have read. Donella does a *wonderful* job in the true sense of the word. Something to print out, keep on your desk, and go through at least once a month.

An Instant Must Read.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can get through the jargon and can keep up with the jargon-based reasoning then you can see the potential for mastering these principles of leverage points. It is being able to wield power, for good or for bad. There is a lot here in not a lot of words. Worth reading many times and applying.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastiskt skriven, så mycket att ta in att det är svårt att sätta betyg.

Och slutet: "In the end, it seems that mastery has less to do with pushing leverage points than it does with strategically, profoundly, madly letting go."

[Carla OM · Rating 5 out of 5]

💫

[Jane Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vital reading to help us work through today's polycrisis - Economic, Nature, Social and Political. More needed today than when it was written in 1999.

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and succinct. Effective distillation of an extremely complex and abstract-sounding topic to a concise set of principles and easy-to-understand analogies that are very helpful for novices.

[Colton Davie]

provides a ranked list of 12

engulf everything

[Dilek Sayedahmed, PhD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meadows is a must read for any social scientist out there, especially economists.

[Jan Bloxham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. I wish I could think and write this clearly. What a gem. Available online for free at The Donella Meadows Project.

[Matija · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this essay as part of an amazing (and free) online course Foundations of Humane Technology: https://www.humanetech.com/course