The Middle Way

A Way of Seeing, Building and Living

The Middle Way isn't about finding the midpoint between two opposing sides. Sometimes one side is simply wrong. Sometimes both sides have something to teach us. And sometimes we're asking the wrong question altogether.

The Middle Way begins by getting curious enough to see the whole system—including ourselves.

We live inside systems built by human beings: families, communities, businesses, governments, schools, banks, churches, healthcare institutions and technologies. Each has a history, a purpose, a structure and a set of incentives. Some work remarkably well. Some need maintenance. Some have been altered so many times that we've forgotten what they were originally built to do.

Systems thinking helps us see the connections.

The builder asks what to do about them.

The Builder and the Toolbox

A good builder doesn't arrive at every job carrying only a hammer.

Before tearing down a structure, a builder examines it. What is holding? What is cracking? Is the problem cosmetic or structural? Does the foundation need repair? Can something old be restored? Is an addition creating stress somewhere nobody thought to look?

Human systems deserve the same attention.

My toolbox has been assembled over a lifetime of banking, finance, business, sales, politics, motherhood, faith, relationships, mistakes, successes and ordinary life. Systems thinking is one tool. So are curiosity, compassion, accountability, discernment, humor, common sense and the willingness to change my mind.

Different problems require different tools.

And sometimes the wisest intervention is not to build anything at all.

From Either/Or to Both/And

The Middle Way makes room for complexity without using complexity as an excuse for inaction.

We can protect individual freedom and recognize responsibility to one another. We can expect accountability and extend grace. We can respect institutions and question them. We can preserve what works and repair what doesn't. We can disagree without turning one another into enemies.

There doesn't always have to be a winner and a loser.

There is room for everyone to win.

That doesn't mean everyone gets everything they want. It means we can design systems with human dignity, stewardship and long-term consequences in mind rather than assuming someone else must lose for us to succeed.

Start With Better Questions

The Middle Way doesn't offer a universal blueprint. Human beings and the systems we create are too complicated for that.

Instead, it asks us to pay attention.

What are we trying to accomplish? Who is affected? What are the incentives? What are we missing? What happens downstream? What are we protecting simply because it already exists? What are we feeding that might be better released? And perhaps most importantly:

What part of this belongs to me?

Those questions can be carried into a family argument, a business decision, a healthcare system, a bank, a church, a classroom or the halls of government.

Build Wisely

The Middle Way isn't a political party, an ideology or a demand that everyone agree.

It's a practice of approaching complicated human problems with curiosity, courage, compassion and accountability—and enough humility to recognize that none of us sees the entire structure from where we're standing.

Sometimes we build.

Sometimes we repair.

Sometimes we reinforce what is already strong.

Sometimes we take something apart and use the pieces differently.

And sometimes we discover that the tool we need has been in the toolbox all along.

The Middle Way is a way of seeing, building and living.

These ideas—and the dragons that make practicing them so difficult—are explored through stories in

DIANA: Dancing with Dragons — A Little Book of Wisdom