Named as an archetype by Peter M. Senge (The Fifth Discipline, 1990), after the world model of Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III (The Limits to Growth, 1972).
Describes a reinforcing growth loop that runs into a balancing limit, so growth slows or reverses, and pushing harder on growth only reaches the limit sooner.
When to reach for it
When a growth strategy that worked for years plateaus without an obvious cause, or a team stalls as it scales.
How it runs
- Draw the reinforcing loop driving growth.
- Find the balancing loop and the limit behind it.
- Estimate when growth will meet the limit.
- Work on the limit, or set a growth rate it can bear.
- Revisit the map as the system changes.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- The Fifth Discipline, 1990
- The Limits to Growth, 1972