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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Business Strategy McKinsey 7S |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Futures Wheel helps explore the consequences of a decision, a trend, or a strategic move in a structured way. It makes visible which first, second, and third-order effects could arise from an event. | McKinsey 7S checks whether Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style, and Staff fit together. Organizational misalignments become visible across multiple levers as a result. | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 2-4 h | 60-120 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-12 | 2-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | 7S Assessment, Alignment Gaps, Change Actions | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | OrganizationStrategyAlignmentChange | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |