The Cabrera Lab Blog

VMCL

Part of our research mission is making the science of systems thinking available to everyone. The blog and the Cabrera Lab Podcast are where we share it. Views here are our own, not those of our partners or of Cornell University.

VMCL · August 31, 2020

“The Purpose of a System Is What It Does.”

This post is adapted from Chapter 4 of Flock Not Clock. We must sound a cautionary note on evaluating whether capacity and mission align. Systems and …

Derek & Laura Cabrera

VMCL · August 30, 2020

Capacity and Mission Must Be Aligned

This post is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of Flock Not Clock. When the linkage between capacity and mission is broken or “de-coupled” (i.e., when capacit…

Derek & Laura Cabrera

VMCL · August 30, 2020

The Things You Do Every Day Build Capacity

This post is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of Flock Not Clock. In a fictitious example, let’s say our organization’s vision is to “Eradicate Fleas Worldwi…

Derek & Laura Cabrera

VMCL · August 26, 2020

We Build Capacity to Do Our Mission

This post is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of Flock Not Clock. What is capacity? Capacity is a general term, used in disciplines from physics and mathemat…

Derek & Laura Cabrera

VMCL · August 25, 2020

Why Do I Need A Mission?

This post is adapted from Chapter 3 of Flock Not Clock Why does your organization need a mission? How else does any collective know what’s best to do?…

Derek & Laura Cabrera

VMCL · August 24, 2020

Mission Confusion Abounds!

This blog is an excerpt from Chapter 3 of Flock Not Clock. Starting in the 1980s, there was tremendous pressure to create a mission statement (some bl…

Derek & Laura Cabrera

VMCL · August 15, 2020

Can A Visionless Organization Succeed?

If the right kind of Vision is so important, what explains companies that succeed with no [discernible] Vision? This is an important question we get a…

Derek Cabrera

VMCL · August 12, 2020

Vision Gives Us A Shared Purpose

This post is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Flock Not Clock. Social scientists have long understood the importance humans attach to a sense of purpose a…

Derek & Laura Cabrera

VMCL · June 8, 2020

The Four Simple Rules of Organizations

This post is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Flock Not Clock. So what are the simple rules of an organization? How do we leverage them to maximize organi…

Derek & Laura Cabrera