This model provides a description of the three main ways systems experience change and how you can best respond.
Three types of change help inform your decision making about responding to system change.
STATIC CHANGE is one-dimensional change—simple movement from point A to point B. An example would be the shifting of a resource from one place to another. Like riding one horse from start to finish.
DYNAMIC CHANGE is multi-dimensional change that is predictable on a measurable scale. You see this type of change when you control the speed and path of a horse when racing against others
DYNAMICAL CHANGE is an unpredictable, surprising change that happens. For example, the chaos that happens when one horse falls and takes six other riders down without warning.
Courtesy of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute
So What?
When you know the type of change you face, you can better plan your response.
Static Change
Static Change requires that you take directed action, follow step-by-step instructions, and stay with a carefully crafted plan.
This is the simplest change, and depends on direction and force of change. This type of change is predictable. You know that the tension in the system will be shifted if you just move from Point A to Point B. You respond by applying force or external motivation or incentive to move the system. The move you take is informed by:
The direction of movement that will resolve the system tension
The force you believe to be required to resolve the tension
DYNAMIC CHANGE
Dynamic Change requires that you know enough at the beginning to plan the predictable course, and standards to understand what is happening, and to monitor and implement a plan of action.
Dynamic change is more complicated, being multi-dimensional. It can best be described as moving along a smooth trajectory toward a predictable end point. Like water shooting out of a hose, if pressure and angle are known, you can predict height and distance of the arc of water. Tension in the system emerges when the expectation is for a set performance that you may or may not be able to accomplish. The move you take is informed by:
- Prescribed algorithms, set standards, or organisational or cultural expectations
- The degree to which you believe your compliance will shift the system toward acceptable levels of tension
DYNAMICAL CHANGE
Dynamical Change requires that you engage in Adaptive Action so that you can detect changes in environmental tension and make an appropriate response to reduce tensions as they develop in the system.
Dynamical change is complex and results from multiple forces acting in unpredictable ways, generating surprising outcomes. On the other hand, the forces interact in intricate ways, so the change is not random. It is unpredictable, but patterned. Think about water dripping from a faucet. The rate of drops depends on too many factors to predict, precisely, when each drop will fall.
These forces include: amount of deposit in the pipes; temperature, wind, and humidity in the room; and amount of water in the pipe. These factors and others interact in unpredictable ways to determine when drops will fall—non-predictable and maddening in the middle of the night. Tension in the system emerges when the multiple forces push the system too far from equilibrium. The move you take to resolve the tension is informed by your understanding of the patterns in the system:
- The similarities, differences, and connections that shape local patterns in the system
- Action you can take to shift any one of those conditions in the short term w Your perception of fitness between the new patterns and the greater environment
Now What?
Use the Three Types of Change model when you need to assess, understand, and take action in times of significant change.
Gather information from your environment to understand the situation and the type of change that is occurring.
Consider the implications of that change and plan for action that will respond appropriately to reduce system tension.
Take action and determine its impact as you step into the next iteration of Adaptive Action.