Kalle Reflects on Learning by Doing

Kalle reflects on Learning by Doing.
Strategic Takeaway for Leaders at all Levels Everywhere
You may already have learnt that ‘ABCD-in-Funnel’ workshops are at the heart of FSSD with its+ systemic, systematic and strategic planning. Furthermore, that once you have begun “learning by doing” according to those intuitive and easy-to-learn guidelines, you enter a steep learning curve immediately. Just like you really learn chess or skiing or SWOT analysis by doing it than reading about it. So, to highly occupied and sometimes stressed leaders, the whole idea with this Reflection is to shorten the lead time to close to null, until it is possible to enjoy improved ROI and bottom lines. Perhaps a few hours by just sitting in on an ABCDworkshop orchestrated by middle management and then take part in the “game” as it unfolds into concrete business.
Most organizations, despite good intentions, are failing at this. The result? Massive investments in initiatives that can’t scale and are therefore doomed on future markets. These failures don’t just appear in sustainability reports C they hit the bottom line through cost surges, stranded assets, and lost market relevance.
There is but one scientifically grounded Operative System designed for exactly this, FSSD. It is not just about full-scale sustainability, it’s more profitable from the start, easier to implement, and more engaging to share amongst co-creating teams, value chains and wider stakeholder groups.
For a deeper dive into the science behind this system, see the peer-reviewed Open-Source paper with all its references: doi.org/10.1002/sd.3357. For the full title, see footnote below.
Or, for concluding reflections, practical insights and training, visit: fssd.global → Kalle Reflects.
If you need any further advice, perhaps getting some further references, please ask fssd.global
Footnote: Broman, G. I., & Robèrt, K.-H. (2025). Operative System for Strategic Sustainable Development―Coordinating Analysis, Planning, Action, and Use of Supports Such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Planetary Boundaries, Circular Economy, and ScienceBased Targets. Sustainable Development, 1C16.
More in detail: Here follows an overview-list of 10 very concrete aspects to consider.
  1. ABCD-in-Funnel workshops: Do you feel well informed about the Operative system e.g. by surfing and clicking on the title ‘Framework’ at our FSSD Global homepage? (This offers an easy-to-read overview of the Operative System’s components and their logical relationships).
  2. Active leadership: Do you have organizational leaders for the actual topic actively engaged in your organization or are you perhaps planning to get there? (Read the reflection Pitching through the Wall. Top leaders need not be there every ABCD session but must take active part every now and then. This is to get the essential funding to sustain strategic and scalable stepwise transitions).
  3. Is Systems thinking Good C yes, on one Condition. Have you read this Reflection? (It is about “systems thinking” or “holistic thinking” which may be quite flaky on the one hand vs. hands-on improvement of bottom lines by being systemic, systematic and strategic on the other).
  4. Sustainability Reporting. Have you read this reflection? (It is about how to integrate imperatives of sustainability reporting with Business developments, in a way that is helpful rather than being an extra burden).
  5. Enlightened self-interest. Have you understood how the Operative system improves on your bottom lines, regardless of what others are doing? (Financial benefits come from foreseeing practices that are doomed to become increasingly costly, while investing in development paths that are the opposite, truly scalable).
  6. Topic: Have you chosen a clear topic for exploration? (Be it your organization, or region, or a product/service, or anything you want to become gradually future-fit while improving on bottom lines from the beginning).
  7. Interdependent sectors: Have you considered the need to understand what sector(s) your topic is dependent on? (In concrete terms it means to have a brief understanding of your topic’s relationship to global sectors e.g. agriculture, forestry, spatial planning, energy, traffic, material flows, or infrastructure. All to prepare for, and feed into, your topic’s more specific ABCD analyses).
  8. Moderator in Action. Have you read how a good moderator performs to make a group of participants function as one brilliant mind? (In concrete terms, it means to read page 45 of the picture book that you can download from our homepage, and page 46 to get a sense also of effective break-out sessions.
  9. Cross sector planning. Have you read this scientific paper? You can download it as a PDF file from our homepage (In concrete terms, it means to get people from various sectors into the room for repetitive ABCD workshops, e.g. people who know something about (i) Natural Resources, (ii) Engineering and (iii) Governance, and then put those together into flows of dialogue by use of the ABCD methodology).
  10. Stakeholder cooperation, case study. Have you read Kalles Reflection on Polymers? It shows how many actors from suppliers, producers, clients, science, authorities, and a university take part in an ongoing multistakeholder cooperation and creates a cascade of creative systemic, systematic and strategic cross sector planning and action. A result that would have been impossible without the FSSD as a shared mental model.