The Systems Thinker: Essential Thinking Skills (The Systems Thinker Series, #1)

by Albert Rutherford

The function of almost every system is the will and work to ensure its own survival.

The elements became so concerned about their own individual purposes that the unifying purpose got lost.

To maintain a successful system, the sub-purposes and the main purpose have to be kept in harmony.

Ironically, it is the part of the system that is usually the hardest to recognize, the function or purpose, which has the biggest influence on the system’s behavior.

Supporting self-organization in a system requires a loosening of the reins and being willing to let go of a bit of control to give the system the chance and freedom to do what comes naturally. It means letting go and allowing a degree of trial and error within the system.

A key understanding of systems theory, just as important as recognizing that systems largely cause their own behavior, is that systems with the same structures will exhibit the same dynamic behaviors even when at first glance you think that the systems couldn’t be more different.