Thinking in Systems

“sytems thinkers strive to understand the connections between the hand releasing the Slinky (event) and the resulting oscillations (behavior) and the mechanical characteristics of the Slinky’s helical coil (structure).”

Summary of Systems Principles

• A system is more than the sum of its parts.

• Many of the interconnections in systems operate through the flow of information.

• The least obvious part of the system, its function or purpose, is often the most crucial determinant of the system’s behavior.

• System structure is the source of system behavior. System behavior reveals itself as a series of events over time.

Guidelines for Living in a World of Systems

1. Get the beat of the system.
2. Expose your mental models to the light of day.
3. Honor, respect, and distribute information.
4. Use language with care and enrich it with systems concepts.
5. Pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable.
6. Make feedback policies for feedback systems.
7. Go for the good of the whole.
8. Listen to the wisdom of the system.
9. Locate responsibility within the system.
10. Stay humble—stay a learner.
11. Celebrate complexity.
12. Expand time horizons.
13. Defy the disciplines.
14. Expand the boundary of caring.
15. Don’t erode the goal of goodness.

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