The observation that increased efficiency in resource use tends to increase (rather than decrease) total consumption of that resource. First noted with coal: more efficient steam engines led to more coal consumption as new uses became economical. In AI today, efficiency gains will paradoxically increase total energy consumption through expanded deployment and novel applications.

A philosophical paradox where a perfectly rational donkey, placed exactly between two identical hay piles, would starve to death because it has no reason to choose one over the other. This illustrates how too much symmetry in options can lead to decision paralysis.

The recognition that emptiness or absence is a critical design element, not merely the lack of something. In architecture, empty space creates function (rooms); in music, silence frames notes; in graphic design, white space creates focus.

The observation that "institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution." Organizations founded to address specific problems often resist truly solving them, as doing so would eliminate their reason for existence.

A framework for managing unsolvable problems – ongoing dilemmas where both poles have value and need balancing rather than choosing one side. Unlike problems with solutions, polarities (quality vs. speed, individual vs. team) require managing both poles simultaneously.

A decision-making framework that recognizes five contexts (simple, complicated, complex, chaotic, and disorder) requiring different leadership approaches. By identifying which domain you're operating in, Cynefin guides appropriate responses.

A leadership response framework for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. For each VUCA challenge, VUCA Prime offers a corresponding leadership approach: Vision counters volatility; Understanding counters uncertainty; Clarity counters complexity; Agility counters ambiguity.

Organizations design systems that mirror their own communication structure. Named after programmer Melvin Conway, this principle observes that software interfaces reflect the social boundaries of the companies that create them.

A methodology identifying the most important limiting factor (constraint) in a system and systematically improving that constraint until it's no longer the limiting factor. The five-step process focuses on the bottleneck that governs overall system throughput.

The principle that non-perishable things (ideas, technologies, books) can be expected to survive in proportion to their current age. If a book has been in print for 100 years, it will likely remain for another 100 years – while a new book will likely disappear quickly.