The 3E Standard™

The Defining Framework for Transformation Management

1. Canonical Definition

The 3E Standard™ defines the minimum structural conditions required for a transformation to maintain legitimacy (L).

Built from Meaning System Science and the Physics of Becoming, it specifies the viability thresholds at which Truth Fidelity (T), Signal Alignment (P), Structural Coherence (C), Drift (D), and Affective Regulation (A) remain in sustainable proportion during organizational change.

2. Featured Lineage

W. Edwards Deming — Out of the Crisis (1982)
Established that performance depends on system integrity and disciplined measurement. The 3E Standard™ extends this as structural thresholds for interpretive stability under change.

John Kotter — Leading Change (1996)
Clarified the necessity of sequencing in large-scale change. The 3E Standard™ formalizes sequencing as a stability requirement governed by proportional conditions rather than persuasion.

3. Plainly

The 3E Standard™ answers one question: can this transformation remain interpretable at speed?

It requires verifiable baselines, convergent signals, usable pathways, manageable contradiction rate, and sufficient correction capacity.

4. Scientific Role in Meaning System Science

The 3E Standard™ translates MSS variable requirements into transformation viability criteria. It evaluates structural interpretive conditions rather than sentiment, motivation, or narrative quality.

5. Relationship to the Variables (T, P, C, D, A)

• T: baselines are defined, verifiable, and updated consistently.

• P: signals, decisions, and incentives correspond to verified conditions.

• C: pathways support consistent interpretation and correction.

• D: contradiction accumulation remains within correction throughput.

• A: correction capacity is protected under load.

6. Relationship to the Physics of Becoming

L = (T × P × C) / D

The 3E Standard™ defines practical boundary conditions for keeping legitimacy viable during transformation by sustaining stabilizers relative to drift rate.

7. Application in Transformation Science

Used to assess whether variable relationships remain within viable ranges across a change arc, including identifying when instability is structural and requires reconfiguration rather than local optimization.

8. Application in Transformation Management

Applied as the primary benchmark for readiness, sequencing, governance design, drift risk, and coherence requirements.

When quantified diagnosis is required, the Standard is paired with LDP-1.0.

9. Example Failure Modes

• Transformations proceed without stable baselines, creating incompatible interpretations.

• Signals and incentives diverge across channels, producing competing meanings.

• Operating pathways do not support correction at required throughput, increasing drift rate.

10. Canonical Cross-References

Transformation Management • Meaning-System Governance • 3E Method™ • Legitimacy Diagnostic Protocol (LDP-1.0) • Physics of Becoming • First Law of Moral Proportion • Legitimacy (L) • Truth Fidelity (T) • Signal Alignment (P) • Structural Coherence (C) • Drift (D) • Affective Regulation (A) • Meaning Topology • Interface