Zero to sixty in 5 seconds!

Imagine you are Wile E. Coyote. Lying slouching on a rock. You are hungry.

Then, dinner comes past, a road runner. You fire up and charge down the road after her.

And… well, we all know Wile goes hungry. However, the cartoons are a delightful illustration of the differences between single, double and triple-loop learning

Consider what a single loop approach might be

• Single-loop learning involves changing behavior or something physical to achieve our goal more efficiently.
• Wile goes from 0 to 60 in 5 seconds. The road runner outsmarts, out runs him and/or he slams into something along the way.

What might a double loop approach to it be?

• Double-loop includes changing strategy or the rules, goals, or structures of the system to become more effective.
• Wile straps on a rocket, puts up a sail powered by a fan, buys an ACME rubber band and many other ‘do it differently instead of running‘ change-the-system ideas.
• He reframes the problem instead of relying on his own speed and legs.

What might a triple loop approach to it be?

• Triple-loop encompasses altering the quality of our ongoing awareness, our inner state of mind & being out of which we source our thoughts and actions.
• Wile stops trying to win the speed race. He reconceptualizes the problem and instead of catching the Road Runner brings her to him with bird seed.

Watch the video below/right here> for examples 🙂

Seeing more

The single, double and triple loop framework brings agility and insight to us. It assists us to think differently, approach previously stuck problems in new ways and reach below the surface to address underlying causes.

The second video illustrates the application of this. It has examples from:

• Roebyem Anders on the Ukraine war and European gas consumption
• The Inner Development Goals
• Mark Twain and Daniel Schmachtenberger
• Joanna Macy
• Mila A. on climate advocacy and business sustainability

Watch the video, an extract from a Transformative Climate Advocacy session, below/right here>

Watch and read the examples

In the single, double and triple loop video above, Simon referred to the following:

Roebyem Anders‘ piece on the Ukraine war and European gas consumption is titled One way to combat Russia? Move faster on clean energy. It is here> The article is in Dutch. See Simon’s comment under the article for a rough English auto-translation.

The Inner Development Goals aim is:

to make the world work better… by spreading the skills and qualities that lead to a more purposeful, sustainable, and productive life — for each and for all of us.

The website is here>

Mark Twain‘s quote is in Daniel Schmachtenberger‘s video Psychological Pitfalls of Engaging With X-Risks & Civilization Redesign. Watch it here> (link starts the video after the 14-minute mark).

Joanna Macy shares a practice, called breathing through. It is a practice for cultivating compassion for the healing of our world.

We need to stay open, we need to be able to be present to our world and other beings and all that it’s going through… The breath is always with us, we can always turn to that friend which connects our body with our mind. Inside with outside.

Breathing Through is below/right here>

Try it for yourself

Think of a problem you encounter that is important to you. Something you want to shift.

An example is a hypothetical organization near Flathead/Člq̓etk lake, USA.

Challenge: I’d like my workplace to install solar panels.

• Single: It will cost a bit but, even in northern Montana, we get enough sun for electricity generation to pay for this. We’ll have paid back the cost of the panels and installation within 11 years. But, when I presented this to my board they said we had more pressing priorities and shelved the plan.
• Double: I’ve a better idea. Let’s change the system. It’s our whole energy consumption that matters. Let’s do energy efficiency, efficient heating and insulation, solar power and education materials for our visitors all at the same time. We’ll have paid back the cost of measures within 3 years plus we’ll be a great example for our communities. Result, plan shelved but many of the board were interested in this with the education component important for them too.
• Triple: I’m missing something here. The business, system and education case is sound. When you apply net present value, risk evaluation and our leadership importance to this it’s a clear yes. I can see there may be more to what’s going on.I’m going to look at how I am making sense of this problem and consider the perspectives of my board, peers and power structures. I’ll go slow on this to go fast later—maybe this is telling me something about how I make-meaning and my worldview or adult developmental stages? Maybe it’s telling me how I have been shaped by my identity and culture? Maybe I have a blind spot or growth edge to lean into?

Consider what a single, double and triple loop approach to your issue could be.