4.5 Leveraging the iceberg
4.5 Leveraging the iceberg
Key points
A leverage point is a place of influence where any action is compounded to gain some kind of advantage. We can use the iceberg to help us find leverage. As a general rule, the further we move down the iceberg, the greater the leverage. There are five different levels of leverage
- Reactive : We react to events. This is essential for survival, but insufficient for long-term performance.
- Adaptive : When we recognize patterns we can adapt our behavior and actions in anticipation.
- Creative : Understanding the structure and how it generates behavior can help find leverage points.
- Reflective (Mental models) : Our understanding of cause and effect relationships allow for structural relationships to exist in the real world.
- Generative (Vision) : Our world-view, paradigm or mind-set that determines how a system should work
1. Watch the video
2. Study the lesson readings
How to question our mental models. This short text outlines the steps and tools we can use to reflect on our own mental models and better understand those of others.
Additional materials
- Video sources and bibliography. The web sites, attributions and sources cited in the video “Leveraging the iceberg”.
- The video transcript.