Hey, it's Nathan! You've acquired a lot of design tools in HS101. Before you start applying them, it's helpful to review how everything hangs together. I'll walk you through it.
Starting with the human at the top of the circle (🧑🏾 Malaika), and moving clockwise...
- 🧑🏾 Malaika has 🌳 personal values she develops from experience, reflection, inspiration, and admiration.
- These are often bundled with 📈 goals and 💍🛃 expectations in her concepts.
- Her concepts and the 👣 hard steps of her values encounter a ⚙️ structure.
- ⚙️ Structures make certain 📈 goals and 💍🛃 expectations more salient, and the 👣 hard steps easier or harder.
- ❣️Emotions arise as she manages to live by her values (or not).
- And so on...
Of course, there is a lot more to human life that just what is named in the wheel above. But these are the elements we'll work with in the Human Systems design method.
Designing only for Humans
When we don't recognise how humans are embedded in the structures around them, we tend to design bad stuff.
If we simply ask a person to practice their value by performing some action, we design in a "structure blind" way and lose out on many opportunities to support this human in acting by their value in this context.
Structure-Blind "Support"
Many well-meaning people design structure-blind forms of "support" (i.e., behavioral pressure): "Did your taxes? Here's a gold star, hero!" / "Ate a second piece of cake? It gets the hose again!" This approach can seem helpful, but only serves to amplify existing goals and expectations.
David Goggins offering you some structure-blind "support" about your attitude:
Note: This only works for David Goggins.
Again, we missed the chance to provide actual support to a human trying to live by her values.
Human Systems Redesign
You've mastered personal values, goals, expectations, hard steps, and structural features. Now you can apply that knowledge to redesign structures and support meaningful living.
As you do, remember to ask yourself...
- Does my design actually support the hard steps of living by an articulated value?
- Does it's structure make value-aligned goals and expectations more sailient?
For the next session, bring an articulated 🌳 Personal Value:
See you soon!