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Law of Nature | The Manifesto

Initiatives waste their time and resources on overcoming mountains of obstacles

Available solutions of the high(est) impact get stuck in the system by default

Our long-standing approaches to solving the growing problems we face failed us

An enormous solution potential is waiting to be unleashed 

Bureaucracy and fixed ways of thinking prevent us from unlocking it

Ban Ki-moon, Former UN Secretary-General, The Elders newsletter. March 1st, 2024:

“We need to see an urgent change of direction in global decision-making” 

Signed by Ban Ki-moon, 9 former Heads of State and 2 (+ 7) Nobel Peace Prize LaureatesFebruary, 2024

“Calling on world leaders to show long-view leadership on existential threats” 

“Our world is in grave danger. We face a set of threats that put all humanity at risk. Our leaders are not responding with the wisdom and urgency required.” 

Shocking Facts & Causes

Shocking Facts and Causes

Why People Lose Patience 

Many experts in science and innovative networks: The needed solutions are available today

Yet:

  • Exponential growth of the problems we face
  • Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA)
Out of Balance

High-impact solutions require support

Standard responses for 2+ decades 

  • “This does not fit my responsibility, processes, discipline, expertise or priority”
  • “Here is my best practice, model, trend or tool”
  • At least one individual stopping available solutions  

Caused By

Lost and missing foundations in our long-standing solution approaches 

What do decision-makers1 really need to make the problem-solving decisions?

1 Across industries, institutions, public services and communities at all levels

When the matter is complex: 

Where is the compliance verification against relevant Laws of Nature during decision-making?

What do innovators and initiative owners really need to get their solutions through the system?

Particularly those with high-to-highest impact possibilities

What do employees really need to do their jobs in healthy ways?

Additional for decision-makers, advisors, scientists, funders, project managers and innovators 

Where is the education of decision-makers, scientists, funders and innovators in the Laws of Nature relevant to their fields when unchangeable but occurring Laws of Nature …

  • from physics, mathematics and engineering cannot be expressed in exact ways1 OR 
  • cannot be expressed at all in exact ways2?

1 For examples see Manifesto parts 1 and 2 (Tipping Point and Capacity Bottleneck Laws of Nature)
2 For an example see Darwin’s survival law

1.

Where are the innovation and research tracks based on Einstein-Newton-Darwin1 practices and the problem-solving practices of individuals like 

  • Steve Jobs (iPhone / smartphone), 
  • Jacinda Ardern (former Prime Minister of New Zealand, compassion and leadership style) 

2.

Where is the support and funding for non-technical innovation? 

1 See Manifesto parts 1 and 2 and Darwin’s survival law

How can we see that urgencies, responsibilities and research priorities are aligned such that the exponential growth of damage created by the existential problems is turned around within acceptable timeframes?

Examples

  • Ecuador’s constituion1 and Bolivia’s Mother Earth laws2 give Nature a seat at the table during decision-making processes 
  • Decision-making processes verify compliances in alignment with relevant Laws of Nature, especially when Laws of Nature …
    • from physics, mathematics and engineering cannot be expressed in exact ways3 OR 
    • cannot be expressed at all in exact ways4?

1 Source: Wikipedia 
2 Conflicts with conflicting laws to overcome. Source: Harvard Faculty Voice Podcast. Feb. 6, 2023
3 For examples see Manifesto parts 1 and 2 (Tipping Point and Capacity Bottleneck Laws of Nature)
4 For an example see Darwin’s survival law

How can we see early on that solutions are practical, executable at the system level and durable?

A Group of Experts With Experience in the Field Took On this Challenge

They found answers and simple solutions. The core of their findings and associated solutions are available through this Manifesto. 

Emile van Essen, Founding Chair of World Sustainability Fund:

As far as I know, this is the only initiative worldwide responding to the following at the level required:

  1. What prevents us from unleashing the available solutions?
  2. Where and how do we have to intervene to unleash the solutions of high-to-highest impact within the deadlines set by Nature and deadlines agreed on by international treaties?

Based on: What delivered needed results where our long-standing approaches failed us (examples)

While the phone industry tried to re-invent the phone step by step, Steve Jobs ignored the common innovation processes. Instead of marginal improvements, he drove for going beyond the Tipping Point where it delivered what users really wanted. 

More in Manifesto Part 3.4.4 (in review for approval)

In the Netherlands, a potato disease became  resistant to chemical treatments. It threatened the country’s yearly harvest and added ever more unwanted substances to our food.

20,000 farmers, trade organisations, scientists, and government organisations were stuck in endless discussions and finger-pointing.

Potatoe

A combination of two old methods was brought in.

Results:

  • Finger-pointing quickly changed into listening and helping each other
  • After a few workshops, the project was up and running three months later
  • The project organization: 1.5 full-time employees only
  • Budget needs: tiny
  • Goals: Achieved quicker than planned

More in Manifesto Part 3.4.2 (in review for approval)

Two Laws of Nature showed the way to highly effective treatments. Examples:

  • ADHD: Daily emotional outbursts disappeared for 17 years
  • Dyslexia: After simple interventions, learning to read happened within six weeks and 10-minute exercises per day 
  • Weeks of severe back pain: With signs of it coming again, a few 1-minute exercises are sufficient to prevent it
Please help

Many others found effective treatments after official Health Services gave up

Possibility: From exponential growth of problems in Health Services and their consequences elsewhere to ‘Flatten-the-Curve’ of:

  • People suffering 
  • Costs of Health Services
  • Structural capacity bottlenecks
  • Violence and crime, jurisdiction and imprisonment from mental matters
  • Countries undermining their competitive positions 

Practices which enabled Einstein, Newton and Darwin to make their discoveries are well known or visible to us. However, where are the research, innovation and decision-making processes applying them? 

In this Manifesto 

  • Highest-impact practices of Einstein, Newton and Darwin (no mathematics needed)
  • These practices confirmed and extended by an Einstein-Newton-Darwin researcher, Prof. Michael Fitzgerald
  • Various examples of how these practices were applied to make this Manifesto possible

Result

  • This Manifesto as applying Einstein-Newton-Darwin practices was one of the foundations making it possible

More throughout the Manifesto tutorials and Manifesto Parts 1 and 2 in particular

When relevant elements of the Manifesto were applied 

In a specific field of service management, known for high project failure rates since the 1990s, applying relevant elements of the Manifesto led to the following results:

  • Lack of interest and resistance changed into interest, support and demand 
  • A structural reduction and prevention of bureaucracy and complexity by resolving it at its root cause
  • Delivered on time, without escalations and costly corrections

After 2+ decades: The Only Solution Left May Be …

Law of Nature Manifesto: SUMMARY

What Experts with Experience in the Field Found to be of the Highest Impact

That is in particular experts who have found effective solutions where our long-standing solution approaches failed us

Nature does not allow overwriting hard Laws of Nature. The damage from overwriting relevant laws is colossal.

Missing relevant Laws of Nature undermines:

  • Our efforts to unleash the power of solutions available today
  • Our potential in surviving by intelligence, whilst being in harmony with Nature

Laws of Nature typically relevant but missed in complex environments:

  • Tipping Point law
  • Capacity Bottleneck law
  • Health law

Root cause and intervention point of the highest impact  

For over two decades

Large groups have learned to recognise when initiatives give insufficient or no attention to 

  • Common lessons learned
  • Relevant Laws of Nature
  • Core Human Values & Essential Behaviours

Consequences

  • Lack of interest
  • Giving up
  • Opposition
  • Conflict-creating behaviours

Root cause and intervention point of the highest impact

These root causes guide us to where interventions need to take place

More specifically: Tipping Point, Capacity Bottleneck and Health laws

No rocket science or mathematics needed

Often possible: Integration of such laws in decision-making 

Einstein-Newton-Darwin practices show us the way to finding simple rules and Laws of Nature that apply to highly complex matters

In Response to the Shocking Facts & Causes Above

The Manifesto provides

Common lessons learned, root causes, Laws of Nature, and simple solutions of the highest impact 

The Manifesto prevents

Analysis paralysis and information overload through focus on the highest impact at the lowest costs and risks 

 The information overload simplified to a small series of 5 to 30-minute video tutorials

For


Everyone

20 to 50 minutes

Those who want to know where and how to intervene

2:30 hours only 

Those designing and executing transformation projects 

3:30 hours only 

Approach and Structure

Applicability

Whenever an environment or challenge is complex

Aviation
Business services
Construction
Education
Energy
Health Services
IT
Public services
Manufacturing
Science
Social enterprises

And more

Agility 
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Best practices & Methods
Education
Finance
Health
Human Resources
Indigenous knowledge
Innovation
Knowledge Management
Land use
Management
Natural Earth Systems
Organisations
Politics
Project management
Research
SDGs1
Societal matters
Youth & Children

And more

Agile yet reliable decision-making
Artificial Intelligence: Downside prevention
Automation
  • Beneficial versus counterproductive 
Bureaucracy & Complexity reduction
Cooperation & Co-creation
Circular economies: Making them happen
Education and skill gaps
Fixed ways of thinking & Behaviour
Food security
Health of
  • People
  • Projects, organizations and  environment
  • Planet
Innovation:
  • High(est)-impact getting stuck by default
  • Out-of-the-box, social and organizational  
Marine life
Safety
Security
Trust: (Re-)creating trust
Truth finding
Productivity improvements
Project failure rates far to high
SDGs1
Social and organisational innovation needs
Water security

And more

1 Sustainable Development Goals

A Navigation System For Making Better Decisions

Navigation
Navigation

Perspectives

For personal education, health, work and donation matters

&

To distinguish those who continue to apply the same practices that created the problems we face versus those solving them   

For making initiatives, projects and movements appealing, practical and executable in today’s world

&

To distinguish initiatives, research, projects, and movements with too many gaps and conflicts versus those being practical, executable, and durable

To (re-)create problem-solving decision-making in politics, businesses, public services and institutions

Brief tutorials & Powerful Guiding Questions you can ask

The basics are the same for all perspectives.

Law of Nature Manifesto: The PACKAGE

Part 1: Introduction & the Tipping Point Law of Nature in One Sentence

In only 10 minutes, answers to:
  • Why do solution attempts fail us today?
  • How did the Laws of Nature disappear from decision-making?
  • How do we reconnect with the Einstein-Newton-Darwin practices?
    • Multiple structurally different practices from how we go about tough problems today
  • How can we together get started in our own environments to solve these matters?
And
  • How we apply the Tipping Point Law of Nature without realizing it
  • The law’s huge solution potential waiting to be unleashed
  • Hard-to-ignore guiding questions everybody can ask when decisions are to be made 

Part 2: The Second Law of Highest Impact in Two Sentences

In only 10 minutes, answers to:
  • What would Einstein, Newton and Darwin do when faced with differences against standard practices?
    • Answers by Prof. Michael Fitzgerald 
  • What characteristics should decision-makers look for when hiring people to solve tough problems?
    • Answers by Prof. M. Fitzgerald
  • Why is the second Law of Nature applied for the road system, but not for organizations and mental matters such as ADHD, autism and dyslexia? 
And from the above
  • A systemic failure demanding the highest priority now
  • Why many are likely to have found effective mental health treatments after standard therapies delivered insufficient results
    • The bound-to-be missing Law-of-Nature-based link between identified causes of various mental matters and their symptoms,
    • Why urgently needed research with the missing link couldn’t get started 
  • Hard-to-ignore guiding questions you can ask when managerial, organizational, societal and therapy decisions need to be made

Part 3: Intervening Where the Highest Impact Can be Made At the Lowest Costs & Risks

In only 5 minutes, answers to:
  • Why do simplification projects in a box create more bureaucracy and complexity at the system level than is saved inside the box? How can this be prevented?
  • Why is a package of (simple) solutions required to solve complex problems?
And 
  • The extended Manifesto structure with five subsections identifying intervention points of the highest impact and solutions having shown their value across industries and fields 
  • Hard-to-ignore guiding questions you can ask when attempts are made to solve complex problems

Part 3.1: Practices Which Break Trust Versus Practices Which BUILD Trust

In only 10 minutes, answers to:
In only 10 minutes, answers to:
  • Why do communication practices that worked (well) before now trigger disbelief, resistance and opposition? 
  • What type of communications, practices and activities should be avoided?
  • What communications, practices and activities turned the previous situation into interest, support and demand?
And from the above
  • A guiding question you can apply yourself to get people on board 

Results of relevant Manifesto elements having been applied

White paper

Part 3.2: Intervention Points of the Highest Impact

In only 20 minutes, answers to:
  • Why have our long-standing approaches to
    • unlocking the available solutions &
    • reducing the crippling bureaucracy & 
    • reducing the overwhelming complexity
 

 failed us?  

  • What are intervention points of the highest impact we have missed?
    • Eight executable intervention points of the highest impact
And from the above
  • Hard-to-ignore guiding questions you can ask when decisions are to be made  

Part 3.3:  One Word to Make Better Decisions and Reduce Bureaucracy Drastically

In only 14+ minutes, answers to: 
  • What is the most impactful intervention possibility to
    • Flatten-the-Curve of the exponentially grown bureaucracy and complexity drastically? 
    • Avoid practices and ways of thinking that worsen matters and select those that solve the tough problems in our environment and beyond? 
    • Re-create trust?

A single word, derived from the Tipping Point Law of Nature

  • How can we utilize the existing bureaucracy to get this intervention possibility into decision-making? 
  • How do we prevent waiting decades until the regulations, processes and the like are adjusted?
  • How does this intervention align with popular models and science?
And from the above
  • Hard-to-ignore guiding questions you can ask when decisions are to be made  

Part 3.4: How Simple Solutions to Highly Complex Problems Can Be Found

3.4.1 The Complexity Navigator (10 minutes)

Status: Video in review for approval

3.4.2 From Solution Possibilities to Executable Solution Frameworks (25 minutes)

Status: Video creation underway

3.4.3 A Skillset for Solving Complex Problems (15 minutes)

Status: Video creation starts soon

3.4.4 A Complementary Innovation Process (11 minutes)

Status: Video in review for approval

3.4.5 A Law-of-Nature-Based Research Model For Complex Matters (12 Minutes)

Status: Video in review for approval

Part 3.5: Core Human Values and Essential Behaviours for Decision-Making

Under development
This section resolves some remaining gaps in decision-making

Part 4: Getting Started

Part 4.1: Calls for Pilot Projects and Educational Needs

Under development

Part 4.2: Overcoming Transformational Obstacles

Under development

Part 4.3: Collection of Hard-to-Ignore Guiding Questions 

Under development

The Law of Nature Manifesto: A Fresh Approach

Intervention

Intervening where the highest impact can be made at the lowest costs and risks  

+

Practices and solutions that facilitated the delivery of needed results after standard approaches failed

+

What delivered the needed results across industries, fields or subjects

+

Across industries, fields and subjects, the same Laws of Nature, often available from Physics, Mathematics and Engineering, emerged as the primary intervention possibilities

Implementation

Keep what works well

+

Let go of the long-standing approaches that failed us

+

Complement what works well with what has demonstrated needed results after our long-standing approaches failed us

The Manifesto's Co-Creators

Core Team

Netherlands, Germany

Initiator of the Manifesto

Bridgebuilder, Analyst, Inventor, Polymath

Arti Ahluwalia

India

Coordinator of Publications UN Commons Cluster NGO Major Group

Ecocivilisation Country Chair India

Director at Dimex India 

Netherlands

Former CEO

Sustainocracy: Initiative owner and author

John Scholtz

Netherlands

Program Manager

Passion for sustainability

James N. Rose

United States

Biologist (retired)

General Systems Analyst

Developer of Integrity Paradigm

Marion van den Eijnden

Netherlands

Avatar Master

Former Occupational Therapist

Elly Rijnierse

Netherlands

Senior Advisor 

Civic Leadership and democratisation in Integrated Area Development

Belgium

Journalist

Founder of Re-Story

Contributing Co-creators 

Emile (Glans) Van Essen

Netherlands

Founding Chair WORLD SUSTAINABILITY FUND 

Many sustainability projects across the globe have received (large) funds. Emile became a co-creator when he discovered that the Law of Nature Manifesto was addressing many of the obstacles undermining the projects funded and he didn’t see anyone else doing this. 

Stephanie Barnes

Germany, Canada

Creativity for doing things differently

Prof. Manuel Casanova

United States

Retired, previously: SmartState Endowed Chair in Childhood Translational Neurotherapeutics & Gottfried and Gisela Kolb Endowed Chair in Psychiatry

Margie Charpentier

Netherlands

Background support and out-of-the-box contributions

Prof. Michael Fitzgerald

Ireland

Einstein-Newton-Darwin Researcher

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (retired)

Ukpeme Okon

United States, Nigeria

Ambassador for Peace

Barrister

Catherine Schoendorff

Germany, France

Former CEO

C-Suite Coach

Serene Seng

Singapore

Executive Coach

Speaker

Dr. Mahendra Shah

Indonesia

Director

Co-author UN-IIASA climate change report 2002

Former IIASA scientist

Adina Tarry

United Kingdom

Organisation & Leadership Development, HRM Strategy, Quality & Process management, Business & Consumer Psychologist, Mentor, Master Coach & Supervisor, Lecturer, Author, Speaker

Harry van der Velde

Netherlands

Holistic analysis and visualization of organizational issues

Owner, ZICHT Visie en Verbeelding

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