Bridgeway Partners Blog

In order to lead systemic change, learn to access levers at the individual, collective or relational, and systems levels. The I/WE/IT framework enables leaders to cultivate a viewpoint of personal responsibility for change, strengthen collaborations, and identify high leverage interventions. ... read more »

Viewing systems thinking as just a mental discipline misses the richness and breadth of the approach – which actually includes emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions as well. Integrating all of these dimensions increases your effectiveness in applying systems thinking to meet the complex challenges that organizations and other systems face. ... read more »

Policy makers who seek to protect society from people struggling with substance abuse often end up becoming addicts themselves. They become addicted, albeit unwittingly, to quick fix solutions which temporarily address social problems but undermine society's ability to implement more permanent and fundamental solutions. ... read more »

Developing the awareness and will to make fundamental individual changes comes from thinking systemically. Developing the ability to implement these changes in service of the whole is a result of acting systemically.

... read more »

Lewis Thomas, the award-winning medical essayist, observed, “When you are confronted by any complex social system … with things about it that you’re dissatisfied with and anxious to fix, you cannot just step in and set about fixing with much hope of helping. This is one of the sore discouragements of our time.”

Consider the following headlines all based on true stories, which epitomize Thomas’s insight:

• Shelters increase homelessness
• Food aid increases starvation
• Drug busts increase drug-related crime
• Job training programs increase unemployment

 These stories share specific characteristics:

... read more »