Positive Flywheels

I remember reading a story of a man who studied math who went on to be a oncologist. The Doctor’s non-medical training might seem to be circumstantial but he was able to use the lens of calculus to help his patients. For instance, thinking about the rate of change of the size of a tumor, rather than just its size helped him understand and explain to his patients if treatment plans were working.

For me one area far outside of my field that has really helped me think about political organizations (and organizations in general) is evolutionary biology. Specifically, I have been thinking a lot about how evolution isn’t a conscious actor with an end goal but rather the emergent process of complex systems in which only systems that reproduce continue to go on reproducing. An animal that doesn’t further itself won’t create more animals that are like itself. That is the primary mechanism which evolution emerges from.

This lens has helped me significantly with understanding organizational furthering. When building organizations, practices, and teams that I have wanted to last in roles in Texas, Pennsylvania and Virginia, I have focused more and more over time on imbuing them with features that create positive flywheels. One example of why this is so important is the huge succeses of the University Democrats of UT Austin. They succeed where many college Democrat groups struggle bringing important politicians from the local level all the way to the state level to their regular meetings. These politician’s come because of the power of the club which helps increase the club’s power over ensuring its survival.

For instance in 2022, a great YIMBY councilman Zo Qadri was running for his first election. He was able to secure the University Democrats endorsement and won those precincts by huge margins carrying him to victory. The power of the endorsement draws in candidates who want to appeal to club, which brings in more students and resources allowing them to further strengthen their endorsement. Students in the club want to be more active so they can have a larger hand in shaping the powerful endorsement process leading them to improve the club more, bringing even more students in.

The link back to evolution here is pretty simple. If the University Democrats didn’t have these kinds of positive flywheels working in their favor the club would be diminished or less successful. The positive flywheel is why the club exists in a recognizable and successful form. Any successful structure needs mechanisms that perpetuate and further themselves to succeed and working to create them is central for ongoing survival of anything, from a species to a human organization.