Reference #390: Thinking in Systems
Leverage points are places in a system where a small change applied can lead to a large change in behaviour. According to Jay Forrester, most managers experienced at working in their system are able to guess accurately where leverage points may be found. Yet these points are often counterintuitive. When we do find them, we often push in the wrong direction. For example, we correctly identify population and economic growth as leverage points, but fail to recognise that pushing for ever-expanding growth is not the correct approach for many problems.
Meadows. Thinking in Systems, 2008. (145-146)