Circular growth loops

Please have in mind these are field notes organized in a common structure that I use for myself or for my students, university classes and industrial activities. They may be messy, with errors and in some cases, without proper references. If you find your work (or part of it) here without proper acknowledgement, please let me know so I can fix it as soon as possible.

It's a way to see progress; you can see it as something linear or as something where people is not "up" or "down" the progress ladder, but on one point of their "own, unique growth loop".

Circular model applied to learning [^1]:

1. Learn something new
2. Write about it and share it
3. Connect with new people

… and learn something new from them.

It's all about "celebrating the small wins rather than chasing a big final victory".

Single loop vs. double loop

“A thermostat that automatically turns on the heat whenever the temperature in a room drops below 68°F is a good example of single-loop learning. A thermostat that could ask, “why am I set to 68°F?” and then explore whether or not some other temperature might more economically achieve the goal of heating the room would be engaged in double-loop learning.”

Chris Argyris, Business Theorist and Professor at Harvard Business School.

The double-loop model encourages people to question assumptions and objectives rather than repeating the same loop endlessly.

[^1]: Growth Loops: From linear growth to circular growth - https://nesslabs.com/growth-loops

Significant Revisions

May 3, 2023: Original publication on dariomac.com