Archetypes
The word comes from the Greek archetypos, meaning "first of its kind." A stepchild of the field of systems thinking, systems archetypes were developed at Innovation Associates in the mid 1980s. At that time, the study of systems dynamics depended upon complex causal loop mapping and computer modeling, using mathematical equations to define the relationships between variables. Charles Kiefer, I.A.'s president, suggested trying to convey the concepts more simply. Jennifer Kemeny (with Michael Goodman and Peter Senge, based in part upon notes developed by John Sterman) developed eight diagrams that would help catalogue the most commonly seen behaviors. Some archetypes, including "Limits to Growth" and "Shifting the Burden," were translations of "generic structures"--mechanisms which Jay Forrester and other systems thinking pioneers had described in the 1960s and 1970s. (Art Kleiner)

Authority
Like the word "author," this word can be traced back to the Greek authentikC3s, which meant "do-er," master, or creator. The English meaning of "authority" (possession of the right and power to command) stems from the fact that the creator of a work of art or craft has the power to make decisions about it. (Charlotte Roberts)

Related Documents:
Communal-Rational Authority, Control, and Self-Managing Teams: Implications for Leadership, by James R. Barker

Community
The word "community" has old roots, going back to the Indo-European base mei, meaning "change" or "exchange." Apparently this joined with another root, kom, meaning "with," to produce an Indo-European word kommein: shared by all.

We think the idea of "change or exchange, shared by all," is pretty close to the sense of community in organizations today. Community building is a core strategy for sharing among all its members the burdens and the benefits of change and exchange. (Juanita Brown)

Intimacy
The word "intimacy" stems from the Latin intimatus, to make something known to someone else. (Another derivation is the verb "intimate," which originally meant "to notify.") In its original meaning, in other words, intimacy did not mean emotional closeness, but the willingness to pass on honest information. (Charlotte Roberts)

Learning
These Chinese characters represent the word "learning." The first character means to study. It is composed of two parts: a symbol that means "to accumulate knowledge," above a symbol for a child in a doorway.

The second character means to practice constantly, and it shows a bird developing the ability to leave the nest. The upper symbol represents flying; the lower symbol, youth. For the oriental mind, learning is ongoing. "Study" and "practice constantly," together, suggest that learning should mean: "mastery of the way of self-improvement." (Peter Senge)

The roots of the English word for learning suggest that it once held a similar meaning. It originated with the Indo-European leis, a noun meaning "track" or "furrow." To "learn" came to mean gaining experience by following a track-- presumably for a lifetime. (Art Kleiner)

Mental Models
The concept of mental models goes back to antiquity, but the phrase (to our knowledge) was coined by Scottish psychologist Kenneth Craik in the 1940s. It has been used by cognitive scientists (notably Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert of MIT), and gradually by managers. In cognition, the term refers to both the semipermanent tacit "maps" of the world which people hold in their long-term memory, and the short-term perceptions which people build up as part of their everyday reasoning processes. According to some cognitive theorists, changes in short-term everyday mental models, accumulating over time, will gradually be reflected in changes in long-term deep-seated beliefs. (Art Kleiner)

System
A system is a perceived whole whose elements "hang together" because they continually affect each other over time and operate toward a common purpose. The word descends from the Greek verb sunistC!nai, which originally meant "to cause to stand together." As this origin suggests, the structure of a system includes the quality of perception with which you, the observer, cause it to stand together.

Examples of systems include biological organisms (including human bodies), the atmosphere, diseases, ecological niches, factories, chemical reactions, political entities, communities. industries, families, teams -- and all organizations. You and your work are probably elements of dozens of different systems. (Art Kleiner)

Related Terms: Systemic Structure and Systems Thinking.

Systemic Structure
Some people think the "structure" of an organization is the organization chart. Others think "structure" means the design of organizational work flow and processes. But in systems thinking, the "structure" is the pattern of interrelationships among key components of the system. That might include the hierarchy and process flows but it also includes attitudes and perceptions, the quality of products, the ways in which decisions are made, and hundreds of other factors.

Systemic structures are often invisible -- until someone points them out. For example, at a large bank, whenever the "efficiency ratio" goes down two points, departments are told to cut expenses and lay people off. But when bank employees are asked what the "efficiency ratio" means, they typically say, "It's just a number we use. It doesn't affect anything." If you ask yourself questions such as: "What happens if it changes?" you begin to see that every element is part of one or more systemic structures.

The word "structure" comes from the Latin struere, "to build." But structures in systems are not necessarily built consciously. They are built out of the choices people make consciously or unconsciously, over time. (Richard Ross, Charlotte Roberts, and Art Kleiner)

Related Terms: System and Systems Thinking

Systems Thinking
At its broadest level, systems thinking encompasses a large and fairly amorphous body of methods, tools, and principles, all oriented to looking at the interrelatedness of forces, and seeing them as part of a common process. The field includes cybernetics and chaos theory; gestalt therapy; the work of Gregory Bateson, Russell Ackoff, Eric Trist, Ludwig von Bertallanfy, and the Santa Fe Institute; and the dozen or so practical techniques for "process mapping" flows of activity at work. All of these diverse approaches have one guiding idea in common: that the behavior of all systems follows certain common principles, the nature of which are being discovered and articulated.

But one form of systems thinking has become particularly valuable as a language for describing how to achieve fruitful change in organizations. This form, called "system dynamics," has been developed by Professor Jay Forrester and his colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology over the past forty years. "Links and loops," archetypes, and stock-and-flow modeling-- all have their roots in the system dynamics understanding of how complex feedback processes can generate problematic patterns of behavior within organizations and large-scale human systems. (Peter Senge and Art Kleiner)

Related Terms: Systemic Structure

Teams
The word "team" can be traced back to the Indo-European word deuk (to pull); it has always included a meaning of "pulling together." (The modern sense of team, "a group of people acting together," emerged in the sixteenth century.)

We define "teams" as any group of people who need each other to accomplish a result. this definition is derived from a statement made by former Royal Dutch/Shell Group Planning coordinator Arie de Geus: "The only relevant learning in a company is the learning done by those people who have the power to take action." (Art Kleiner)

Theory, Method, Tool
By the term "theory," I mean a fundamental set of propositions about how the world works, which has been subjected to repeated tests and in which we have gained some confidence. The English word "theory" comes from the Greek root word theo-rC3s, meaning spectator. This derives from the same root as the word "theater." Human beings invent theories for the same basic reasons they invent theater--to bring out into a public space a play of ideas that might help us better understand our world.

It is a shame that we have lost this sense of the deeper meaning of theory today. For most of us, theory has to do with "science." It suggests something cold, analytic, and impersonal. Nothing could be further from the truth. The process whereby scientists generate new theories is full of passion, imagination, and the excitement of seeing something new in the world. "Science," as Buckminster Fuller often said, "is about putting the data of our experience in order."

New theories penetrate into the world of practical affairs when they are translated into methods and tools. "Method" comes from the Greek mC)thodos-- a means to pursue particular objectives. It gradually evolved into its current meaning: a set of systematic procedures and techniques for dealing with particular types of issues or problems.

"Tool" comes from a prehistoric Germanic word for "to make, to prepare, or to do." It still carries that meaning: tools are what you make, prepare, or do with. (Peter Senge)

Vision, Values, Purpose, Goals
Although this discipline is called "building shared vision," that phrase is only a convenient label. A vision is only one component of an organization's guiding aspirations. The core of those guiding principles is the sense of shared purpose and destiny, including all of these components:

Vision: an image of our desired future
A vision is a picture of the future you seek to create, described in the present tense, as if it were happening now. A statement of "our vision" shows where we want to go, and what we will be like when we get there. The word comes from the Latin videre, "to see." This link to seeing is significant; the more richly detailed and visual the image is, the more compelling it will be.

Because of its tangible and immediate quality, a vision gives shape and direction to the organization's future. And it helps people set goals to take the organization closer.

Values: how we expect to travel where we want to go
The word "value" comes from the French verb valoir, meaning "to be worth." Gradually it evolved an association with valor and worthiness. Values describe how we intend to operate, on a day-to-day basis, as we pursue our vision. As Bill O'Brien points out, Adolf Hitler's Germany was based on a very clear shared vision, but its values were monstrous.

A set of governing values might include: how we want to behave with each other; how we expect to regard our customers, community, and vendors; and the lines which we will and will not cross. Values are best expressed in terms of behavior: If we act as we should, what would an observer see us doing? How would we be thinking?

When values are articulated but ignored, an important part of the shared vision effort is shut away. By contrast, when values are made a central part of the organization's shared vision effort, and put out in full view, they become like a figurehead on a ship: a guiding symbol of the behavior that will help people move toward the vision. It becomes easier to speak honestly, or to reveal information, when people know that these are aspects of agreed-upon values.

Purpose or Mission: what the organization is here to do
"Mission" comes from the Latin word mittere, meaning "to throw, let go, or send." Also derived from Latin, the word "purpose" (originally proponere ) meant "to declare." Whether you call it a mission or purpose, it represents the fundamental reason for the organization's existence. What are we here to do together?

The "mission" is more popular in organizations today, but it has unfortunate military, religious, and short-term overtones: "Our mission is to take this hill [or die in the attempt]!" I prefer the word "purpose"; it suggests more of a reflective process. You will never get to the ultimate purpose of your organization, but you will achieve many visions along the way.

Goals: milestones we expect to reach before too long
Every shared vision effort needs not just a broad vision, but specific, realizable goals. Goals represent what people commit themselves to do often within a few months. The word may have come from the Old English goelan, to hinder, and goals often address barriers and obstacles which we must pass to reach our vision. (Bryan Smith)