great systems - great people

Great systems attract great people. Likewise, highly effective people are attracted to highly effective systems. The attraction is mutual. They have much in common. The experience seems congruent, validating and meant to be.

Great systems extend beyond the boundaries of the formal infrastructure. They are inclusive of other contexts that unresponsive systems define as "none of our business", "off limits" or "beyond our capabilities. Great people extend their efforts beyond the limits of their job description. They find exceptional ways to serve internal customers, resolve chronic problems, and take initiatives to prevent breakdowns.

Great systems interact with the world as if everything is a system. Things are regarded as cycles and incidents are framed as developmental phases. Likewise, highly effective people are "in process serving other processes". They are immersed in how situations evolve, grow and change. They work with the ways things come back around, revisit the same issues and return to what was partially realized before.

Great systems respond effectively to changing pressures, demands, inputs and constraints. They incorporate enough complexity and receptivity to deal comprehensively with unforeseen stresses. Highly effective people also come up with great ways to handle challenges. The way they see the world and themselves in it gives them better ways to define problems, diagnose symptoms and value happenstance.

The interaction of highly responsive systems and highly effective people appears mutually reinforcing. The two dynamics bring out the best in each other. They effect each other in ways that nurture other contexts and make the world a better place. The spinoff effects from these virtuous cycles energize creativity elsewhere by providing a better example, raising new expectations and recognizing the exceptional contributions. The repercussions of this mutual responsiveness spawns contagious competence in other people and systems. The world finds the combination of great systems and great people to make a desirable difference.