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 Laureates. February, 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 Discoveries
Shocking Discoveries
Why People Lose Patience
On the one hand
- Exponential growth of the problems we face
- Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA)
- Many experts in science and innovative networks argue that the needed solutions are available today
- The same argument is true for the questions below
On the other hand,
high impact solutions require support
Standard responses for 2+ decades by politicians, companies, public organizations and science
- “This does not fit my responsibility, processes, discipline, expertise or priority”
- “Here is my best practice, model, trend or tool”
- There is ‘always’ at least one individual stopping available solutions
- No response at all
Where are:
- The acceptance of taking on responsibility for the human essentials?
- The aligned priorities?
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
Laws of Nature: When the challenge is complex
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
Innovation & Einstein-Newton-Darwin practices
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
Priorities
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
Executability
How can we see early on that solutions are practical, executable at the system level and durable?
A small group of Experts-by-Experience in the field took on this challenge
They found answers and simple solutions
The foundations are available through this Manifesto
After 2+ decades of solution attempts …
Re-integrating Laws of Nature Into Decision-Making
No rocket science nor mathematics needed
Similar to how we apply the Tipping Point Law of Nature with water
We adjust our practices without hesitation to the situation at hand
In the summer, we may enjoy a swim in a lake
In the winter, we may enjoy a walk over a frozen lake
A navigation system for making better decisions
PERSONAL
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
PROJECTS
To distinguish initiatives, research, projects, and movements with too many gaps and conflicts versus those being practical, executable, and durable
For making initiatives, projects and movements appealing, practical and executable in today’s world
PUBLIC
To (re-)create problem-solving decision-making in politics, businesses, public services and institutions
Brief tutorials & Hard-to-ignore Guiding Questions you can ask
The basics are the same
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
Applicability
Whenever an environment or challenge is complex
Across industries, fields and challenges
Industries
Aviation
Business services
Construction
Education
Energy
Health Services
IT
Public services
Manufacturing
Science
Social enterprises
And more
Fields
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
Challenges
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
The Law of Nature Manifesto
Law of Nature Manifesto: The Package
Part 1: Introduction – Including the Tipping Point Law of Nature
- 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?
- 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
- 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?
- 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
- 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?
- 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
- 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?
- A guiding question you can apply yourself to get people on board
Part 3.2: Intervention Points of the Highest Impact
- 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
- 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
- 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?
- 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
Part 3.5: Core Human Values and Essential Behaviours for Decision-Making
Part 4.1: Calls for Pilot Projects and Educational Needs
Part 4.2: Overcoming Transformational Obstacles
Part 4.3: Collection of Hard-to-Ignore Guiding Questions
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
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
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
Margie Charpentier
Netherlands
Background support and out-of-the-box contributions
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
Harry van der Velde
Netherlands
Holistic analysis and visualization of organizational issues
Owner, ZICHT Visie en Verbeelding
Sponsors
Cooperatieve Vereniging AiREAS U.A.
A value-driven co-operative organization: Together for clean air and health in local environments
Website maintained by ComDyS
Experience and knowledge contributions