Systems Thinking

I did a course this week called ‘Systems Thinking’, and I loved it.

Once back at work, I found myself challenged as to how to describe what the highlights of the course were, and what the key things were that we had learned.

On reflection, the key benefits for me from this course can be boiled down to 3 ‘As’:?

The Actual Course (okay, yes, that ‘A’ is a stretch)

Approximately 10% of the course value will come from the raw theory that we learned on the day, from the quotes, the course material, the free food (nearly 5% on its own), and from the great learning atmosphere.

Awareness

20% of the value will come from getting a greater awareness of Systems Thinking, and how little I know about it relative to how much there is to learn. Here’s a scientific diagram that demonstrates my thought:

Application

The remaining 70% of the course value will come from application: capitalising on a broadened awareness to do follow-up study, read some of the great material that was recommended to us, and then actually put the powerful lessons into practice.

Of course, these numbers are made up, and are purely gut feel, but they highlight why we can go to a course that really opens the mind, and yet struggle to explain concisely why it was so profound. Much of the course value is wasted unless we take action to reflect on the learnings, change our mindset, and change the things we do.

It is in this spirit that I am writing this post.

The course itself broke down systems to a first-principles level and showed us how absolutely everything exists within a system. We studied famous examples of systems that had worked well, and systems that had failed. A key lesson that was driven home with a practical exercise was that you cannot expect the output of a system to change unless you change the system itself. We were taught good ways to incentivise optimal behaviour in a system, and how wrong incentives can lead to catastrophic outcomes (think Boeing, and how the incentives for profit overtook incentives for engineering excellence. See video below).

Boeing's Downfall [Greed Over Safety] feat. Mentour Pilot

Our minds are a system, our bodies are a system, how we live each day, and how we live our lives is a system. If you want to change the output of a system, you must make changes to the system itself.

System changes don’t have to be grand or flashy. Would you describe the ‘system’ of your life as lazy or undisciplined? Stop snoozing your alarm; or spend 10 minutes more each day on something proactive. Do you feel the culture or ‘system’ of the place you work is suboptimal and wasteful? You, as a part of that system, can make a difference! Do you feel that the broader system of society is broken and corrupt? What tiny thing can you do as a component of that system to improve the system? To paraphrase Ghandi, ‘Be the change you want to see in the system!’.

A chunk of the course was spent learning about how purpose, motivations and influence interact with systems. Every system has its own unique purpose, things that motivate its component parts, and influences on it that can be a powerful force for good or evil.

I was grateful for quotes other learners on the course shared. One of my favourites (not word-for-word) was: “How you behave is not the main way to influence change - it is the only way to influence change.”

This reminded me of another quote: “Into the hands of every individual is given a marvellous power for good or evil---the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be.”

Study Systems Thinking, take note of the systems within you and around you that are not operating at their potential, then start influencing changes to those systems to change the output. Start small and, most importantly, start with yourself.