The art of thinking in systems

Systems thinking is being able to examine and analyze ourselves and the things around us with the express purpose of being able to improve upon them. It requires us to be more observant and aware of the things that impact us, in both big and small ways, and then be willing to take the necessary steps to change the obstacles in our path.

Making an investment by taking some time at the beginning to solve a problem, either by changing a system that isn’t working or creating a new system, will save so much more time in the long run. This holds true whether you are working toward a personal or professional goal. Adopting even just a little bit of systems thinking into your life can help you to improve countless areas.

According to Richmond, “System thinking is the art and science of making reliable inferences about behavior by developing an increasingly deep understanding of underlying structure. System thinking is a way to thinking about, and a language for describing and understanding, the forces and interrelationships that shape the behavior of systems. This discipline helps us to see how to change systems more effectively, and to act more in tune with the natural processes of the natural and economic world.

What is a system? A system is a group of things that are interconnected and demonstrate their own behavior pattern over time. System are usually the cause of their own behavior. Even when outside forces act on a system, it reacts in a way that is consistent with the character of the system. If the same outside forces were to act on a different system, there would likely be a different outcome.

System thinking helps us look at the world in a new way because it encourages us to look at events and patterns by focusing on the connection and relationship between a system’s parts, instead of only looking at the individual parts in isolation. Systems thinking leads us away from trying to come up with a quick fix to a problem, which we too often do, in favor of considering the long-term consequences our actions may cause. It supports a deeper level of understanding than we typically take the time to seek.

Systems thinking is a paradigm shift from our more traditional thinking patterns because we have been taught to look at things rationally, and to try to look for clear cause and effect connections. We are now used to trying to study things in small, digestible pieces, and to attempting to solve problems as quickly as possible by taking control of situations around us. Quite often, we focus on external sources as the cause of all of our problems instead of looking internally at our system to see what improvements can be made.

It has been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The same can be said for system thinking.

Anything that is only a collection of items without the interconnections or a function is not a system.

System almost always continue on, maintaining thei identity and changing only slowly and slightly, even when significant numbers of their elements are changed, as long as the interconnections and purpose remain strong.

Linear thinking is the way we were typically taught to think throughout our lives. It involves looking for a link between a cause and an effect. This type of thinking believes that one cause has one effect. Linear thinking tells us that there is cause and an effect, a problem and a solution, and a beginning and en ending. This model of thinking looks for a simple one to one connection.

Event oriented thinking does view the world as being more complex than linear thinking typically does, but it thinks of life as being made up of a series of events and not as a system. In this model thinking model, an event is something that happened or is going to happen. Every event is believed to have a cause, and if we change the cause, the event will also be changed.

Lateral thinking involves more creative thinking that isn’t immediately obvious to those who rely heavily upon traditional step by step, logical thinking to reach conclusions.

Lateral thinking strives to generate new and innovative ideas in a way that we can easily repeat over time. Lateral thinking is beneficial when you are trying to get beyond thinking of problems as having one set solution and want to expand your thinking beyond the patterns you have typically thought in. It is particularly helpful in brainstorming sessions and when the desired outcome is invention or innovation.

Critical thinking involves analyzing facts in an objective manner so that a judgment can be reached. It also often entails thinking about your thinking and reflecting on the way you are reaching decisions in order to overcome any biases and improve the quality and efficiency of your cognition.

The first step in moving away from linear thinking to systems thinking is to decide if something is actually the problem or simply a symptom of something deeper. Linear thinking is usually concerned with focusing on symptoms. It tends to stay on the surface to examine behaviors instead of digging deeper to find the true problem before correcting the symptoms.

Keep in mind that systems:

• Are always greater than just the sum of their parts.
• Have interconnections that often function through the flow of information.
• Have a function or purpose, often its least obvious component, that is typically the most critical factor in setting a system’s behavior.
• Have a structure that contributes to the system’s behavior, which is shown as a group of events over time.

Additional parts that make up systems:

• Stock - a stock serves as a the base of every system. Stock may be physical, like an amount of money, inventory, or information, but it does not have to be. Stock can also be feelings or attitudes that people hold. Stocks are not static. They change over time based on the impacts of a flow. Stocks are sorts of snapshots in time, showing a current view of the changing flows in the system.
• Flow - Flows are the actions that impact a system. A flow might be a success or a failure, purchases or sales, deposits or withdrawals, or growth or decline.

There are 2 feedbacks loops responsible for producing dynamic behavior: a reinforcing loop and a balancing loop. Understanding how these two loops work is a cornerstone of systems thinking.

A feedback loop happens when a change in stock leads to a further change in that stock.

If the further change in stock continues in the same direction, it is called a reinforcing (positive) loop. If the further change in stock level moves in the opposite direction, it called a balancing (negative) loop. These feedback loops shift dominance over time. Dominance is a key concept of systems thinking, during the period that one loop dominates another, the dominant loop has a more powerful impact on the system’s behavior.

Diversification can offer an opportunity to change the game and allow those who are loging to possibly be able to become competitive once again. Having antitrust laws in place to keep businesses from completely eliminating all competition. Finding ways to limit some of the advantages of those with power and giving them to those without through unions, scholarships, or financial assistance and offering rewards to winning competitors that will not impact future successes in the competition, are all possible solutions to breaking free from the system trap called “success to the successful”.

Systems thinking at its core start with observing data and events, looking for patterns in behavior that occur over time, uncovering the structures that are the driving forces behind the behavior studying and changing the structures that are no longer helpful, using our curiosity to be open to a variety of possible solutions to a problem, and ultimately being brave enough to choose the best possible long-term solution rather than an easy fix, or just the one that is the most popular

Knowledge is power, when we know better, we do better. System thinking expands our thinking and opens us up to many possible solutions as we look at problems in new ways. We can make more informed choices, knowing that there is no such thing as a perfect solution and every choice we make will impact other parts of the system because it is all interconnected. Systems thinking allows us to be aware of the impact of our choices and to do everything in our power to limit any negative consequences that may arise from them.

We had all heard our parents at one point in time tell us that/they would rather we learn from their mistakes rather than repeating them. Systems are similar in that often, the problems and behavior patterns we witness today have already been present in multiple systems throughout time. By looking at the similar patterns of feedback cycles and delays that have been seen over and over again (called systems archetypes), we are able to more quickly spot dominant behavior patterns in our own current systems. Being aware of how current events in our lives compare to those we have already faced in our past gives us strength and knowledge as we deal with them, because we realize we already have some experience to back us up.

• In a system, everything is interconnected. It is all about how the relationships and connections between the parts impact the system as a whole. Changing one part of a system will impact the entire system.
• Every action and decision will have unintended consequences, so taking the time to analyze a system carefully, instead of rushing to find a “quick and easy fix” is key.
• If you want to change a system, it is more efficient and impactful and to change the interconnections and purpose of function than it is to change the elements. Changing the rules and relationships can often create a “whole new system”
• Looking at problems deeply and from a multitude of perspectives with an open mind will increase the likelihood of finding a lasting positive solution.
• Taking the time to look at an event, and then examining the behavior patterns of a system in the quest for a deeper understanding by asking new questions, is important if we are interested in finding the best possible solutions to the complex problems we face today.
• To systems thinkers, there is no final, definitive answer. Answer is often the beginning to a new question.