The thing about structure is that once you understand it, it’s easy to figure out how something is organized. This applies to the bones of our bodies, the major streets in a city, or the organizational chart in a company. Structure is a framework around which the other parts of a system are built.
Structural systems may vary, but they are generally derived from one of the basic patterns of organization: symmetrical, assymetrical, radial, linear, clustered, centralized, or some combination thereof.
Why does this matter?
Once you can see the patterns of organization in a system and understand how a particular structure supports it, problems can be quickly identified and addressed. When connections and relationships that hold the system together are visualized, it can be easier to see where action needs to be taken to create change.
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