Carol Sanford distinguishes four paradigms, or governing mindsets, that shape how people and institutions act: Extract Value, Arrest Disorder, Do Good, and Regenerate Life. They’re arranged as a hierarchy of increasing wholeness rather than a menu of options. Each higher level can address the intentions of the ones below it, and working from a lower paradigm limits the kinds of value that can be seen or created.
Sanford argues most change efforts sit in the lower two levels — extracting value and fixing problems — and that genuinely regenerative work requires shifting into the “regenerate life” paradigm, which sees value in terms of a living system’s vitality and evolution.
Terminology note: Sanford uses slightly different labels across her writing, e.g. “Extract Value” / “Value Return” and “Regenerate Life” / “Evolve Capacity.”