When to use this combo
You're trying to understand a complex system — an organization, a market, a codebase, or an ecosystem. There are many interdependent parts, and changing one thing affects everything else in ways that aren't obvious.
Is this combo right for you?
Use this combo if you're a visual, interconnected thinker who sees relationships everywhere. You naturally think in diagrams, maps, and feedback loops. When someone describes a problem, you instinctively want to draw it on a whiteboard. If you believe "everything is connected" and enjoy tracing cause-and-effect chains, this combo will feel like home.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Use Connection Circles to map out the key elements and draw the relationships between them. Label connections as reinforcing (+) or balancing (-) to reveal feedback loops.
Apply Wardley Mapping to plot components along a value chain and their evolutionary stage. This reveals what to build, buy, or outsource.
Identify Reinforcing Feedback Loops — both virtuous cycles you can nurture and vicious cycles you need to break.