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What is objective, observable, measurable) on what he terms the right-hand side. On the left-hand side, he places the individual and collective interior aspects of the world. Complete understanding of any system therefore encompasses (1) interior, or nonobservable, elements that we must ask about, such as thoughts, feelings, meanings, and aesthetic appreciation, and (2) exterior, or observable, elements. Additionally, both interior elements and external elements also contain individual and collective aspects.

Each has an influence on the rest, an influence that is usually hidden from view. You can only understand the system of a rainstorm by contemplating the whole, not any individual part of the pattern. Business and other human endeavors are also systems. They, too, are bound by invisible fabrics of interrelated actions, which often take years to fully play out their effects on each other. Since we are part of that lacework ourselves, it’s doubly hard to see the whole pattern of change. Instead, we tend to focus on isolated parts of the system, and wonder why our deepest problems never seem to get solved.

They may do this by establishing one of any number of what are called boundary-spanning functions to cope with their external relations. Boundary-spanning functions are those that cross organizational boundaries, either internally or externally, and attempt to develop and maintain relationships with one or more stakeholder groups. For example, modern multinational corporations typically have at least some of the following functions: public affairs, community relations, public relations, media relations, investor relations, employee relations, government relations, lobbyists, union relations, environmental officers, issues management, and, increasingly for corporate responsibility, corporate social responsibility, and corporate citizenship.