Building a flywheel with an IT leadership team - Using Vester's Sensitivity Model to improve IT application cost dynamics

This presentation introduces a practical approach to building organizational momentum in IT leadership teams by combining the flywheel concept with Frederic Vester’s sensitivity model. Drawing on over two decades of leadership experience in corporate IT and Amazon Web Services, Andrea Weierich explores how systemic methods can help IT functions—often under cost, service, and complexity pressures—develop shared mental models and self-reinforcing cycles of improvement. The talk illustrates how Vester’s methodology supports teams in identifying key variables, mapping their interdependencies, and distinguishing between areas of direct and indirect influence. Using a case study on IT application cost dynamics, Andrea demonstrates how leadership teams can focus their energy on leverage points, align around common priorities, and translate systemic insights into concrete actions. The session highlights the value of shared learning journeys, systemic coherence, and feedback loops in creating lasting organizational momentum, while also connecting these practices to broader lessons from Amazon’s use of the flywheel model.