With a good understanding of the forces and feedback loops in our system we can look more into the various interdependencies that exist. A deeper analysis can help us find interventions and leverage points to increase the chances of success for our change.
How can we find points of leverage in our system?
One of the ways we can improve the chances of success for our change is to find points of leverage and mitigate points of friction within our system. We can do so by looking at our feedback loops for gaps and opportunities.
When looking at points of leverage and friction we can focus on questions such as:
- If/when we introduce this change, will there be competition for resources between different parts of the system? How can we use this understanding to better coordinate our change initiative across projects?
- Will our change conflict with other government/department/branch priorities? How can we reconcile the various priorities?
- Do some of the outcomes of other projects conflict with ours? Why? How? Can we elevate this information to a higher level to reduce conflict and encourage collaboration?
- Does the scope of other projects overlap with ours? Could collaboration improve our chances of success? Could we reduce duplication of effort?
- Do we know what the core messages are from other initiatives overlapping with ours? How can we better align and sequence our messaging?
Once we’ve identified these factors and how they might impact our change (and vice versa) we then can identify which of these factors we need to intervene in or watch closely throughout the life of the project.
Next steps
With our understanding of the system, and some of our leverage points, we can assess the readiness of the organization, leadership capacity and risks.
