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

by Albert Rutherford

Here are the next four steps they advise aspiring systems thinkers to take into consideration: Explore the Purpose Ask yourself where you are now and where you hope to be. It is only by taking a hard, honest look at your current reality, of where you are at the present time as well as what your true goals of a successful outcome from the system would look like that you can begin to close the gap and achieve your vision. Examine Mental Models Go deeper than the superficial layer of a system. Assume that everyone involved is acting rationally and try to get to the bottom of understanding why they might have made the decisions they did. These ideas should get added to the causal loop diagrams as thought bubbles. Acknowledge Personal Responsibility It is human nature to want to place blame outside of ourselves when things go wrong. That’s how we’re wired. The problem with that line of thinking, though, is that it also gives away our power. If we refuse to accept the role we might play in the current problems the system is having, we also give away our ability to be a part of a real and lasting solution. Systems thinkers aren’t looking to place blame; they are looking for solutions. Very often positive change begins with us. Expand the View Problems in systems rarely occur in a vacuum. They have connections to both the past and the future. We just have to be willing to look for them. It is equally important to know if the system has ever been in the same situation before ...