Chapter Eleven: Mental Models
Summary from the book page 219-220

We have attempted to do some complex things in this chapter to begin to understand some of the prevailing beliefs about wealth creation and distribution in an uncertain country. First, we have used the example of Venezuela because, at the moment, it is a country with a great amount of uncertainty, and, as such, is a rich environment for learning. Second, we have introduced a methodology for determining how to know a little better "who is out there" through our discussion of the five very different segment groups that we identified in Venezuela and believe exist in many countries. We described these groups and the views and "mental models" they embody, with a view toward learning what it is that may unify them behind a shared vision. Finally, we reintroduced the "Seven Patterns" described in the first part of this book and examined the perspectives which may be driving these patterns, and inhibiting wealth creation.

We have seen that creating wealth is no longer about macroeconomics and the advantages with which countries are born. It is more complex, involving a wide array of steps, such as building integrated frameworks based on cutting-edge concepts of measuring results, categorizing the scope of strategy choices, understanding institutional dynamics, making paradigms explicit, and understanding how and when paradigms become obsolete. Most importantly, creating wealth in the future will involve pulling the integrated frameworks referred to above together, and incorporating a fundamental understanding of "who is out there," what they believe, and how one structures a process to move them to shared understanding. As the quote with which we began this chapter suggests, everything now (including wealth creation) really is human relations.

Return to Table of Contents