Actions are a range of ways to tackle the problem and move toward the Near Star. Actions don’t control the system – they nudge it forward so the focus is on small, quick actions that actors can take immediately to work towards the long-term outcomes envisioned in the Ideas space.
Key Concepts
- Action: Any step that impacts the system, often small nudges or experiments. Actions can range from small-scale feedback gathering to launching a pilot product or service.
- Outcome: The result of an action, which can be physical (such as a new product) or symbolic (such as shifts in identity or mission).
- Emergence: In complex systems, outcomes arise from the interactions of small actions. These may lead to ripple effects that reshape the system, though sometimes actions may meet resistance and produce no immediate change.
Why Small Actions are Important in Systems Innovation
No one can fully control complex systems, but we can influence change through small actions, or what we often call nudges (Valente, 2010). These actions allow people to adapt over time, leading to new patterns that shift the system’s state.
For example, in a city like New York, individual decisions – whether choosing a subway line or where to eat lunch – interact to shape the broader system. Neighborhoods gentrify, trends spread, and businesses thrive or fail, all from the bottom up. These shifts aren’t planned centrally but emerge from countless individual actions. Similarly, in systems innovation, small actions can have ripple effects, especially when interconnected with others’ actions (Plowman et al., 2007).
Although we can’t predict exactly how systems will change, we can experiment with actions that might create a ripple effect beyond our own organization. We then adjust based on the system’s response, much like checking waypoints during a mountain expedition to reassess our route.
Building an Ecology of Actions
Small actions give us flexibility, allowing us to pivot if necessary, always keeping the Near Star in sight but not being tied to one specific path. Small actions should be used to reduce friction and create pathways for bigger actions later. These smaller steps often happen simultaneously, forming an interconnected ecology of actions that support each other (Grewatsch et al, 2021).
Lift Frictions: Systems often resist change due to the interests of those invested in maintaining the status quo. Think about actions that reduce these barriers, like working with partners or policymakers who can facilitate change (Sutton and Rao, 2024). At other times, you may want to create friction. For example, adding friction to children’s access to social media can improve mental health by reducing screen time and anxiety.
Celebrate and Learn: As you take action, share your successes to inspire and motivate others (Weick, 1984). This builds momentum through storytelling and helps others learn from your experience. Continuous reflection on both successes and challenges is key. It’s not just about celebrating wins but learning from all actions—even those that don’t go as planned. By learning and adjusting, you ensure future actions are more effective.
As you plan your actions, consider what steps can be taken now to ease future actions and what possibilities might open up from those efforts.
Zooming In and Out
Changing systems requires looking at both near-term actions and long-term visions or what we call zooming in and out. This dual perspective helps us move forward in unpredictable systems. Anchoring actions around desired future outcomes keeps the focus on breaking free from the status quo, freeing us from current constraints (Quist and Vergragt, 2006). Starting with the future vision energizes teams and directs resources toward positive change (Kuhmonen, 2017).
While it’s tempting to focus on immediate challenges, starting from the present can limit creativity and bog us down in current pain points (Kuhmonen, 2017). By focusing on the desired future, we can design actions that push us toward that future, using specific actions to overcome barriers as we go.
Imagining the desired future energizes teams while planning near-term actions creates a sense of agency. Executing these actions and celebrating small wins along the way, can boost momentum and keep everyone engaged in the process.
References:
- Kuhmonen, T. (2017). Exposing the attractors of evolving complex adaptive systems by utilising futures images: Milestones of the food sustainability journey. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, 214–225.
- Quist, J., & Vergragt, P. (2006). Past and future of backcasting: The shift to stakeholder participation and a proposal for a methodological framework. Futures, 38(9), 1027–1045.
- Grewatsch, S., Kennedy, S., & Bansal, P. (2021). Tackling wicked problems in strategic management with systems thinking. Strategic Organization, 21(3), 721-732.
- Plowman, D. A., Baker, L. T., Beck, T. E., Kulkarni, M., Solansky, S. T., & Travis, D. V. (2007). Radical Change Accidentally: The Emergence and Amplification of Small Change. Academy of Management Journal, 50(3), 515–543.
- Sutton, R. I., & Rao, H. (2024). The friction project: how smart leaders make the right things easier and the wrong things harder (First U.S. edition.). St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
- Valente, M. (2010). Demystifying the struggles of private sector paradigmatic change: Business as an agent in a complex adaptive system. Business and Society, 49(3), 439–476.
- Weick, K. E. (1984). Small Wins Redefining the Scale of Social Problems. American Psychologist, 39(1), 40–49.
Further Reading: Why Small Actions are Important in Systems Innovation
- Abson, D. J., Fischer, J., Leventon, J., Newig, J., Schomerus, T., Vilsmaier, U., von Wehrden, H., Abernethy, P., Ives, C. D., Jager, N. W., & Lang, D. J. (2017). Leverage points for sustainability transformation. Ambio, 46(1), 30–39.
- Dentoni, D., Bitzer, V., & Schouten, G. (2018). Harnessing Wicked Problems in Multi-stakeholder Partnerships. Journal of Business Ethics, 150(2), 333–356.
- Meadows, D. H. (1999). Leverage points: Places to intervene in a system.
Further Reading: Building an Ecology of Actions
- Sharma, G., Greco, A., Grewatsch, S., & Bansal, P. (2022). Cocreating Forward: How Researchers and Managers Can Address Problems Together. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 21(3), 350–368.
- Wegener, F. E., Lee, J. Y., Mascena Barbosa, A., Sharma, G., & Bansal, P. (2024). From impact to impacting: A pragmatist perspective on tackling grand challenges. Strategic Organization (online first).
- Bob Sutton’s Blog on Frictions (Blog)