Philosophy

Three ideas shape how we think and work: the triple bottom line, tensegrity, and human-in-the-loop.

The triple bottom line

The triple bottom line is a framework for judging a company on three measures instead of one: its effect on people, its effect on the planet, and its profit. John Elkington coined the term in 1994. A company’s bottom line had always been its profit, the last line on its income statement. The framework asks for an account of all three, not just the one that shows up in earnings.

Tensegrity

Tensegrity, short for tensional integrity, is a structural principle. Rigid parts are held in place by a continuous network of tension and never touch one another. The tension is set before any load arrives, so a force at one point is shared across the whole. Kenneth Snelson made an early example in 1948, and Buckminster Fuller named it.

Human-in-the-loop

Human-in-the-loop (HITL) is a design pattern for artificial intelligence. Instead of running on its own from start to finish, the system builds human judgment into the workflow. A person reviews, corrects or approves its work at key stages before it proceeds. The higher the stakes, the closer the person stays to each decision.

How they fit

Each idea offers insight into a different question. The triple bottom line asks what matters. Tensegrity asks how the parts should relate. Human-in-the-loop asks who decides.