To shift a system, you have to learn how to read the signals that tell you what’s really going on, then find the right points of leverage. This is harder than it sounds. The signals that are easy to see, like metrics dashboards, are usually convenient proxies, unreliable and full of noise. The most obvious levers are often local optimizations that are likely to backfire. In this masterclass, you’ll learn how to read signals, especially the less obvious ones. You’ll use foundational system thinking tools, especially causal models, to understand and reason about the system as a whole. Finally, you’ll learn how to find the right levers: the interventions that can shift the system while avoiding unintended consequences. Along the way you’ll discover why decisions made with the best of intentions all too often backfire, how to break out of doom loops, and how even the smallest actions can have the biggest impact.