The Architecture of Power

Description

Welcome to the Leanpub Launch video for The Architecture of Power: See what shapes outcomes. Find where you can act. https://leanpub.com/thearchitectureofpower by Yevgen Nebesov! 0:00 Yevgen introduces himself: systems architect, consultant, and non-profit chairman based in southern Germany 0:53 How non-profit work served as a sandbox for testing the ideas behind the book 1:41 Defining power as a property of an arrangement, not something a person possesses 2:27 The traffic light as a model for how objects participate in power arrangements 3:16 How power arrangements work: mapping entities, interactions, and structural change 4:05 The goal of enabling structural change that persists even after the change agent leaves 4:57 The concept of 'actant': distinguishing non-human participants from human agents in power landscapes 5:42 The medieval conflict between king and pope as an illustration of power over beliefs versus secular power 8:08 How property and ownership reveal the relational nature of power 9:44 Stripping away titles and budgets to expose the arrangementbased structure of workplace influence About the Book Why do unwanted outcomes keep returning even after people, policies, or priorities change? The Architecture of Power gives readers a practical way to see the arrangements that make such outcomes durable and to identify where they may be changed. The book is written for professionals who carry responsibility without decisive formal authority: architects, engineers, product and project leaders, internal change agents, and others who must influence systems they cannot command. The title expresses the book's central perspective: power has an architecture. Outcomes are shaped not only by individuals but by arrangements of people, institutions, beliefs, objects, and material resources. Whether deliberately designed or gradually formed, these arrangements contain recurring elements and relationships that can be examined, mapped, and redesigned. Part I introduces the Power Loop, a model of how power arrangements reproduce outcomes, and the Power Canvas, a diagnostic tool for mapping them. Its three application modes (Landscape Mapping, Phenomenon Tracing, and Conflict Analysis) help readers diagnose an arrangement and, where useful, identify candidate points of structural intervention without treating diagnosis as an action plan. Part II begins from that diagnosis. It presents dozens of tactics for reshaping power landscapes from different positions, accounting for the access and constraints associated with each position. Disclaimer This edition contains Part I only, following the “publish early, publish often” approach. Part II is currently in progress and is scheduled for release in October or November 2026. You’ll be notified automatically when the updated edition becomes available. All updates are included at no additional cost. About the Author Yevgen Nebesov is an independent systems architect, consultant, and speaker with more than ten years of experience across transport, logistics, and medical technology. His work focuses on sociotechnical complexity: how technical decisions, organizational structures, and human behavior shape one another. He created The Architecture of Power to help people understand why outcomes persist and where they can intervene. Through writing, workshops, and talks, he helps leaders, experts, consultants, and change practitioners create change from the position they actually hold, with or without formal authority. Thank you for watching, please like and leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you! Please Subscribe and Follow! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/leanpub X: https://x.com/leanpub Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanpub Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leanpub Create Your Own Leanpub Book! You can create your own book anytime here: https://leanpub.com/create/book Here's the tutorial showing how to write and publish a Leanpub book in your browser (it's free!): https://help.leanpub.com/en/articles/2932527-getting-started-writing-a-book-in-leanpub-s-web-browser-writing-mode If you're a Leanpub author and you'd like to submit your own Launch video for us to publish, or if you'd like to record a Launch video with Len, please go here: https://leanpub.com/launch. #books #leanpublishing #selfpublishing #leanpub #writing #softwarearchitecture #politics #socialscience #environmentbehaviorchange #businessstrategy #systemsthinking #sociotechnical #powerstructures #organizationalchange #changeagent