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Feedback Loops
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Loops where output feeds back into input. The fundamental unit of system dynamics.
The Two Types
- Reinforcing — output amplifies itself. Growth, compounding, spirals up or down.
- Balancing — output counters itself. Thermostats, regulation, pushback to equilibrium.
Why It Matters
- Most system behaviour comes from loops, not linear chains.
- Identifying loops is how you explain stability, growth, and collapse.
- Interventions that ignore loops often get absorbed or reversed.
How to Apply
- For any system behaviour, ask: what loops produce this?
- Draw them with arrows: cause → effect → back to cause.
- To change the behaviour, change the loop — not a single node.
Examples
- Reinforcing: happy customers → more referrals → more customers.
- Balancing: rising prices → falling demand → falling prices.
- Both together: booms followed by busts.
The Trap
Missing delays. Loops with lag look like they aren't working — until they do, often too late.
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