curated · working-in
Iceberg Model
The visible event is the smallest part of what is going on.
Origin: Systems-thinking tradition (Donella Meadows, Peter Senge)
The model
A visible event sits above the waterline. Below are patterns over time, then the underlying structures that produce those patterns, then the mental models that produced those structures. To change events durably you have to operate below the waterline — at the structures and the models. The model comes from the systems-thinking tradition, codified by Donella Meadows and folded into wider practice via Peter Senge.
When to reach for it
- A recurring problem that "shouldn't" keep happening.
- Designing an organisation, a process, or a long-running project.
- Diagnosing why a fix did not stick.
When not to
- Genuine one-off events with no pattern attached.
- Acute crises that need a first-order response now; do the iceberg pass afterwards.
In the wild
Sources
- Donella Meadows — Thinking in Systems (2008)
- Peter Senge — The Fifth Discipline (1990)