Tree of Influence
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Desired State / Outcome

A target condition or goal the group wants to reach.

Definition

A desired state / outcome node is a condition the group wants to reach: a goal, a target, or a way things should be. Outcomes are the leaves of the tree. Influence flows toward them.

An outcome has mostly incoming arrows and only rarely or never has outgoing ones. Everything else in the tree eventually points at outcomes.

When it appears

Outcomes appear during Seed, when participants describe what success looks like, or later, when the group names what it is moving toward. Pre-seeding a few known goals before the session helps the group stay anchored.

In cultural and interpersonal problem spaces, outcomes are often behaviors people want to see rather than measurable targets.

Outcomes collect influence from below 5 nodes and 4 arrows: 3 root / problem, 2 desired state / outcome. A text version follows the diagram. [P]Fear of failure [P]Reluctance togive directfeedback [P]Teams see eachother asblockers [O]Everyone iswilling tochallengedecisions [O]Your problemsare my problems Legend [P] Root / Problem [O] Desired State / Outcome Flow: roots (bottom) → outcomes (top).
In cultural problem spaces, outcomes are often behaviors people want to see, not metrics.
Diagram as text: Outcomes collect influence from below

Nodes:

  • Root / Problem: "Fear of failure"
  • Root / Problem: "Reluctance to give direct feedback"
  • Root / Problem: "Teams see each other as blockers"
  • Desired State / Outcome: "Everyone is willing to challenge decisions"
  • Desired State / Outcome: "Your problems are my problems"

Arrows:

  • "Reluctance to give direct feedback" influences "Everyone is willing to challenge decisions"
  • "Fear of failure" influences "Everyone is willing to challenge decisions"
  • "Teams see each other as blockers" influences "Your problems are my problems"
  • "Reluctance to give direct feedback" influences "Your problems are my problems"

How to draw it

Property Convention
Shape Rectangle or sticky note, the same shape as every other node
Color Forest green, #2D7D46, with white text
Position Top of the tree (vertical orientation) or right (horizontal orientation)
Text marker [O], when text markers are in use

Examples

Common mistakes

Stating outcomes negatively. "Reduce technical debt" describes what to get away from. "Maintainable, evolvable codebase" describes what to reach. Positive statements are easier to connect to.

Actions disguised as outcomes. "Implement automated testing" is an action. Ask what it achieves, write that as the outcome ("High confidence in code changes"), and place the action below it.

Required or optional

Required. Every Tree of Influence has outcomes. They appear in every observed tree, in every domain.