This is a model depicting the interactions of the Aesop's Fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

The three common recurring structures.

Developing a strategy for dealing with a situation begins with a description of the situation and the preferred state for today, not in some distant future, and the perceived implications of not doing anything. There is a also a video for this insight.

Introduce the concept of modeling and simulation.

A Tragedy of the Commons situation exists whenever two or more activities, each, which in order to produce results, rely on a shared limited resource. Results for these activities continue to develop as long as their use of the limited resource doesn't exceed the resource limit. Once this limit is reached the results produced by each activity are limited to the level at which the resource is replenished. As an example, consider multiple departments with an organization using IT resources, until they've exhausted IT capacity.

Introduce the concept of modeling and simulation.

CLD of Eric Wolstenholme Syst. Dyn. Rev. 23, 371–389, (2007) See IM-1008 for a stock flow version.

Introduce the concept of modeling and simulation.

A small change in one variable can have a marked impact on multiple variables. Run the model [quits change] = 0  and consider the output. What happens if  you change [quits change] = 5. Run the model to find out. Was the change what you expected?

Are there environmental/physical limits to humanity? Based on the Are There Limits? blog post by Tom Fiddaman.

A Growth and Underinvestment with a Drifting Standard structure is simply an elaborated Growth and Underinvestment structure where the growth inhibitor induces a decline of the standard over time. The real nasty thing about this structure is that the growth inhibitor influence sets up a Reinforcing Loop which even further promotes a drifting of the standard over time.

This is a model depicting the interactions of the Aesop's Fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

Balancing Loop with Stock & Flow Diagram.

The interaction of a population of Moose and Wolves.

Clone of IM-752 map for working simulation model This model is derived from "Nobody Ever Gets Credit for Fixing Problems that Never Happened: Creating and Sustaining Process Improvement" by Nelson P. Repenning and John D Sterman. An expanded map is at IM-1918.

New Learning tend to reduce Outdated Thinking, Communicating & Learning though our Outdated Thinking, Communicating & Learning inhibits new learning. The question is then how do we break this cycle. Adopted from "An Introduction to Systems Thinking with STELLA" by Barry Richmond.

Reinforcing Loop/SFD Simulation allow one to experience the explicit implications of the interactions.

There are limits to what one can infer from a qualitative model.

This is a model depicting the interactions of the Aesop's Fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

Analysis has served us well in developing the understanding of things, at least to a point. Though analysis will not allow us to answer the why questions about things. For that we need synthesis. One might consider analysis and synthesis two sides of a coin that one shouldn't attempt to separate.

Our actions are based on our beliefs and the results of those actions are the basis for our beliefs. The difficulty we create for ourselves is that we make assumptions as to how to interpret the results we select based on our beliefs. As a result we are often operating on a flawed perspective of reality. There is a also a video for this insight.

Insight Maker is completely web based making it easy to develop and share models, allows concurrent multi-user editing, and just happens to be FREE, which a pretty good feature/price ratio.

To develop insights regarding a situation of interest there are a number of things should be considered to ensure a view of the relevant influences.

Based on a sound realization of reality we need an effective approach to dealing with situations which promotes the requisite understanding to develop a strategy that deals appropriately with the situation. A strategy which also is explicitly designed to minimize unintended consequences and puts in place responses to them should they arise.