Simple Rules are the agreed-upon guides that inform behavior and interactions among members of a Complex Adaptive System. Whether by conscious agreement or by unspoken assent, members of a CAS appear to engage with each other according to a short list of simple rules. Those Simple Rules shape the conditions that characterize the dominant patterns of the system.

Same and different is a way to identify patterns in what may seem to be random activity. Patterns are similarities, differences, and connections that have meaning across space and time. When you begin to identify those things that are similar and different in your sticky issue, you begin to name the patterns you see.

Systems experience different types of change, and each requires its own approaches for support and leadership. The Three Kinds of Change model and method offers a description of the three ways systems experience change. It helps you understand the type of change you experience so that you can plot the best fit system-wide response.

Some people have a gift for seeing patterns in chaos. They make great artists and politicians and parents of two-year-olds. Pattern spotting does not come naturally to others, they look at a mess, and see only the mess. In HSD, we depend on being able to see deep simplicity that hides under the surface of chaos, so seeing patterns is a core competency for HSD practitioners. This guide will show you how.

The Landscape Diagram demonstrates the impact of constraints on a system. It gives you a map or picture of how those constraints influence patterns of stability, activity, and decision making across the whole system.

A Complex Adaptive System (CAS) offers a way to think about how patterns emerge from the complex interdependencies around you. Use it to inform understanding and action as you work to influence dominant patterns in your system.

Finite and Infinite Games inform your decision making as you consider the long- and short-term implications of decisions and actions. In complex systems, it is crucial that you know whether you are making a decision, finding a solution, or taking action in a short-term, win-lose Finite Game, or if your actions and decisions are part of the longer-term, more sustainable Infinite Game.

Interdependent Pairs is a model and method that allows individuals and groups to explore the paradoxes that emerge from the complexity in their systems. In a complex system, there is very little that is all or nothing. The challenges that have you stuck are the ones where there is no clear one-way consideration. The stickiness of your issues comes because you move on shifting landscapes between the extreme positions on the questions you face.

Four Truths help you understand different perspectives that influence individual and group action. When you recognize and consider the possible perspectives in any situation, you are better able to navigate the differences that limit open dialogue and free action. The Four Truths, as a model and a method, provides you a way to consider multiple perspectives and then identify the one that is best fit to your purpose.