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The Iceberg Model

A one-page systems-thinking worksheet drawn as an iceberg — the visible event above a straight waterline, then three widening, deepening layers below it. The event is the 10% you notice; the 90% that drives it is hidden underneath. Name the event, then dig down: the patterns that keep repeating, the structures that hold those patterns in place, and the mental models — the beliefs — the whole thing rests on. Each layer carries more leverage than the one above, so the deeper you write, the closer you get to something worth changing. It closes with the single leverage point where you'll intervene. Reacting to events changes nothing; shift the pattern, redesign the structure, or question the belief. Leave any layer blank to work through by hand.