The ‘two loops model” helps me understand how things are changing around us. It shows how the dominant system developed and then starts running down; and as that happens, alternatives start to develop. It is a life cycle view; a way of understanding where we are in terms of the change from one paradigm to another, and it helps explain why things might seem confused and confusing.

Another way to think about it is to visualize the ‘tipping point’ – at which things that originally seemed really innovative end up becoming the accepted model. When Malcolm Gladwell wrote about this, he talked about ‘early adopters’ – the people who see innovation and adopt it early. Some people today might call those folks ‘influencers’.

I am always interested in looking for these people, the ‘early adopters’, because they are the trailblazer who show us where we are all going to go in the future.