Equipment required: A set of dominoes and a small figure (I use a small Paddington Figure (see [[Paddington's Dominoes]].)

Set up the dominoes in a circle with a larger gap between two of the dominoes to insert the figure. Put two dominoes to the side and put Paddington between them.

The whole should be on a table that is stable (so the dominoes don't fall over) and has sufficient space surrounding it for the number of people in the group to stand around the table and see the dominoes clearly.

What set of dominoes are you standing in?

Tell the story

Paddington finds himself amongst these dominoes. He wishes to create some more space for himself and he has decided to push over the domino in front of him. Standing where he believes he is standing, it makes sense to do so.

Move Paddington to stand in the gap in the circle of dominoes. And say but actually he is here!

Q: What will happen when he pushes over the domino in front of him?

Responses may be along the lines "Paddington will get squished/crushed"

Q: Ask Why do you think that will happen?

Responses will talk about the "domino effect". How the dominoes will hit each other and finally Paddington.

Q: Do you know that will happen? How sure are you?

Q: What might make the difference?

Q: Your belief that Paddington will get crushed is based on assumptions. What are they?

Usually they will talk about whether the dominoes will actually hit each other. Ask them "What if the dominoes were made of polystyrene?"

Then the penny drops....We are making assumptions. We are always making assumptions!!!

Q: If you were a consultant helping Paddington, What would you advise him to do if he wants to create space for himself? (What are his options?)

Responses will include: move to the centre of the circle, move outside, turn the domino. Cleverer response would be help him to see from above (from our perspective).

Q: What if he can't move from where he is or turn the domino?

Response: with some prompting they will usually get to turn sideways and push both dominoes each side at the same time.

Q: So what have we learnt?

Responses: the structure of a system affects its behavior. Cause and effect relationships, feedback, Perspectuve matters (stepping back and being able to see the bigger picture). We make assumptions about systems. We can see more options when we see the system!

See [[Iceberg Model]]