Editor’s Note: This post draws from a recent recorded conversation among longtime Insight Experience team members reflecting on a simple but powerful model first introduced by co-founder Nick Noyes. What began as a visual metaphor has evolved into a way of thinking about organizational leadership, especially in times of disruption. The following distills that conversation into a cohesive reflection on why the People System is the often-overlooked force that powers strategic execution.
Picture this: You're in a leadership development workshop. The facilitator walks up to the flip chart and draws a line. Above the line, he writes: "Business System"; below it, "People System." A few arrows, a few words, no slides, and no data points. But somehow, the room gets very quiet. People sit forward.
That simple sketch, first introduced by our co-founder Nick Noyes, stops being a drawing. It becomes a lens. And for many leaders, it's the first time they see just how dependent their success is on the system underneath the system.
The Two Systems Every Leader Needs to See
In most organizations, there’s a tacit hierarchy: Business strategy sits at the top, and the “people stuff” comes later (and only if there’s time). After all, strategy feels concrete. It’s the metrics, the dashboards, the org charts, and the business model.
But as Tim Goodman, one of our longtime facilitators, recalled in a recent conversation, that’s not how organizations really work. Business systems may be designed in PowerPoint, but they’re executed in meetings, emails, handoffs, 1:1s, and team dynamics. In short, through people.
That flip chart sketch made this unmistakably clear. The Business System may be what's visible to shareholders, but the People System is what employees live and breathe. It’s more present, more emotionally real, and more influential in day-to-day behavior than any strategic plan.
What the Sketch Actually Shows
Nick’s diagram looks simple: Business System on top, and People System below. But it suggests something radical: that no matter how sound your business model is, it will live or die based on the strength of your people system.
The systems are interdependent:
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The Business System provides structure: decisions, priorities, processes, financial goals.
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The People System provides energy: trust, communication, engagement, alignment.
You can’t make one operate well without the other. A brilliant strategy poorly communicated or delivered in a low-trust environment will fail. Conversely, a team built on strong relationships, but without direction or strategy, will drift.
Instead of being about so-called soft skills vs. hard skills, this is about recognizing the full architecture of leadership.
[This sketch was also an early foundation for our Business Cycle of Leadership™ model, pictured below, a more structured way to understand how leadership decisions unfold across time, from strategy to communication to implementation.]
“Partial Picturitis” and the Leader's Job
Tim put it best when he described the organizational affliction of “partial picturitis,” meaning that most people see only part of the picture. Employees might deeply understand the cultural vibe and communication norms but have no clarity on the “why” behind a strategic shift. Leaders, on the other hand, might be fluent in KPIs but blind to the undercurrents of burnout or cynicism.
The leader’s role is to see both systems and to help others see them too. That means interpreting the business context for employees in a way that resonates with their experience. It also means taking what’s happening in the People System seriously enough to factor into strategic decisions.
When we teach business acumen, for instance, we’re not just teaching finance. We’re also teaching contextual intelligence, the ability to link the qualitative and the quantitative and to connect the business levers with the people side of performance.
Why This Matters Now
In times of crisis or transformation, this model becomes especially powerful. Nick gave the example of a major shock, like the COVID-19 pandemic or the collapse of a business line. The first system to take a hit is the Business System. Supply chains falter, revenue drops, and priorities shift.
But what determines whether an organization weathers the storm isn’t just the revised financial forecast. It’s the People System. Do employees trust leadership? Are they still aligned? Will they go the extra mile, or shut down and wait?
Amanda Young Hickman posed a powerful question in the conversation: “How many leaders actually lead from this model?” It points to an opportunity: treating the People System not just as a morale lever, but as a core strategic asset.
The Lasting Lesson
Nick summed it up this way: “The Business System is temporary. Relationships are eternal.”
The sketch speaks to more than leadership. It’s about building organizations that endure. And that’s because systems change, markets shift, and tech evolves, but relationships—when nurtured—can endure across decades and organizations. They form the backbone of trust, memory, and resilience.
So maybe the next time you map your strategy, draw a second map, one that traces the emotional currents, the informal networks, the trust reserves. That’s your People System. And that’s the part that will make or break your business.
