Being Better Better – Living with Systems Intelligence
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The authors Being Better Systems intelligence is the innate yet learnable capacity Systems Intelligence extends the through which we engage with the diverse systems in our earlier intelligence concepts by Being Better considering our abilities related lives. Inspiring the reader to nurture this capability in him or herself, this book aims to help people engage with the world around to living in a systemic world. them from a fresh perspective. It encourages the reader to see how we all live in a world of systems, and steps through Systems Intelligence is a higher-level competence than Emotional and how we can sense, think and act differently on that basis. Better Social Intelligence. It acknowledges Raimo P. Hämäläinen that systems and organizational The book presents the eight dimensions of systems intelligence. structures shape our behavior and It looks at how we can better see and understand systems through at the same time provide leverage developing our systems perception. It pushes the reader to not just see points and possibilities for action . systems around them, but to realize that we can often feel systems at work via attunement. It explores how reflection reveals how systems We are always part of systems. shape our thought processes and how we can develop the way we We can act intelligently from within think. It reveals the systemic effects of positive engagement with those systems. others. It shows how an attitude of spirited discovery helps improve Rachel Jones existing systems or create new ways of doing things. It stresses the The concept of Systems Intelligence skills and preparedness required for effective responsiveness within was introduced in 2004 by Professors systems. It promotes wise action that allows us to work holistically Hämäläinen - Jones Saarinen Raimo P. Hämäläinen and Esa Saarinen of Aalto University in with systems, to adopt a long-term perspective when needed, and Helsinki. to manage destructive emotions. It underscores the importance of a positive attitude to consistently act in systems intelligent ways. The reader can evaluate her strenghts in Systems Intelligence by taking the The book focuses on everyday systems like families, SI-test at: www.systemsintelligence. Esa Saarinen workplaces and communities. These systems are created aalto.fi/test The authors are with the through our thoughts, actions and connections with Systems Intelligence Research Group others. They are systems that shape our lives, but also at Aalto University, Finland offer the possibility of us changing them from within. Living with Systems Intelligence Raimo P. Hämäläinen Rachel Jones Esa Saarinen The authors Being Better Systems intelligence is the innate yet learnable capacity Systems Intelligence extends the through which we engage with the diverse systems in our earlier intelligence concepts by Being Better considering our abilities related lives. Inspiring the reader to nurture this capability in him or herself, this book aims to help people engage with the world around to living in a systemic world. them from a fresh perspective. It encourages the reader to see how we all live in a world of systems, and steps through Systems Intelligence is a higher-level competence than Emotional and how we can sense, think and act differently on that basis. Better Social Intelligence. It acknowledges Raimo P. Hämäläinen that systems and organizational The book presents the eight dimensions of systems intelligence. structures shape our behavior and It looks at how we can better see and understand systems through at the same time provide leverage developing our systems perception. It pushes the reader to not just see points and possibilities for action . systems around them, but to realize that we can often feel systems at work via attunement. It explores how reflection reveals how systems We are always part of systems. shape our thought processes and how we can develop the way we We can act intelligently from within think. It reveals the systemic effects of positive engagement with those systems. others. It shows how an attitude of spirited discovery helps improve Rachel Jones existing systems or create new ways of doing things. It stresses the The concept of Systems Intelligence skills and preparedness required for effective responsiveness within was introduced in 2004 by Professors systems. It promotes wise action that allows us to work holistically Hämäläinen - Jones Saarinen Raimo P. Hämäläinen and Esa Saarinen of Aalto University in with systems, to adopt a long-term perspective when needed, and Helsinki. to manage destructive emotions. It underscores the importance of a positive attitude to consistently act in systems intelligent ways. The reader can evaluate her strenghts in Systems Intelligence by taking the The book focuses on everyday systems like families, SI-test at: www.systemsintelligence. Esa Saarinen workplaces and communities. These systems are created aalto.fi/test The authors are with the through our thoughts, actions and connections with Systems Intelligence Research Group others. They are systems that shape our lives, but also at Aalto University, Finland offer the possibility of us changing them from within. Living with Systems Intelligence Raimo P. Hämäläinen Rachel Jones Esa Saarinen Being Better Better Living with Systems Intelligence Aalto University Publications CROSSOVER 4/2014 Aalto University School of Science Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis © Raimo P. Hämäläinen, Rachel Jones and Esa Saarinen Cover Design and Illustrations: Annika Varjonen, Visual Impact Ltd ISBN 978-952-60-5946-4 (printed) ISSN-L 1799-4977 ISSN 1799-4977 (printed) ISSN 1799-4985 (pdf) Nord Print Helsinki 2014 Finland Contents PREFACE 7 INTRODUCTION 11 SYSTEMSINTELLIGENCE 14 THEEIGHTDIMENSIONSOFSYSTEMSINTELLIGENCE 19 THEPROMISE 22 SYSTEMSPERCEPTION 23 SEEINGSYSTEMS 24 SYSTEMSBLINDNESS 28 MULTIPLESYSTEMS 33 SYSTEMSWDNOTSEE 35 THEBIRDANDTHEWORM 38 WCREATESYSTEMS 40 SEEINGWHATSYSTEMSCREATE 45 THECHALLENGE:ADDINGFEELINGTOSEEING 47 ATTUNEMENT 49 OPENINGATTUNEMENTCHANNELS 51 EMOTIONALATTUNEMENT 54 COGNITIVEATTUNEMENT 56 PHYSICALATTUNEMENT 57 ATTUNINGTOOURSELVES 58 ATTUNINGTOOTHERS 62 ATTUNINGTOSYSTEMS 67 FROMATTUNEMENTTOREFLECTION 71 REFLECTION 73 UNDERSTANDINGOURTHINKINGPROCESSES 75 HOWTOSELF-REFLECT 89 PERSPECTIVETAKING 93 IMPROVINGBEHAVIOR:FROMREFLECTIONTOACTION 100 POSITIVEENGAGEMENT 103 CREATINGANDSUSTAININGPOSITIVERELATIONSHIPSWITHOTHERS 104 CONFLICTMANAGEMENT 113 ELEVATINGOTHERS 120 POSITIVEENGAGEMENT:WHATCANIDTODAYǫ 128 SPIRITEDDISCOVERY 131 OPEN-MINDEDNESS 133 CREATIVITY 139 COURAGE 145 EFFECTIVERESPONSIVENESS 151 CHALLENGINGTHENEGATIVE 153 PREPAREANDACT 160 LEVERAGE 167 CRAZYWISDOM 173 WISEACTION 177 INSIGHTFULACTIONINSYSTEMS 179 PATIENTLYPERSIST 185 MANAGINGEMOTIONS 188 ACTINGWISELY 192 POSITIVEATTITUDE 197 POSITIVEPSYCHOLOGY 199 THEGREATERGOOD 207 THEPOWEROFPOSITIVEATTITUDE 209 CONCLUSION 213 AFRESHPERSPECTIVE 213 ANEWHABIT 214 THEBENEFITSOFACTINGSYSTEMSINTELLIGENTLY 216 LEADINGWITHSYSTEMSINTELLIGENCE 217 THECHALLENGE 219 NOTES 221 BIBLIOGRAPHY 239 6 Preface This book is about improvement as an innate capability in us humans. The aim is to help the reader to become more aware of our astonishing skills of systems intelligence – our in-built drive to live with more or less but always with some intelligence in the situations and contexts that we encounter as we live our life. Systems intelligence is about us as active agents. It is about the betterment of life. It deals with intelligent behavior in the context and environments involving interaction, co-creation, feedback and multifaceted back-and-forth influence. A person acting with systems intelligence engages with the multifarious systemic aspects of her life successfully and productively. Experiencing herself as part of a whole, she connects with that whole. Influencing the whole while being influenced by it, she adjusts to the contexts seeking for an appropriate fit, works her way toward survival, growth and success. She fosters her life in the midst of a complex set of circumstances, much of the time with considerable productivity and intelligence. In many ways, systems intelligence celebrates the miracle of life. It takes seriously the ancient promise of philosophy to promote better living through better thinking. While aware of the deficits in our systemic abilities, the chief message is one of reassurance: since early infancy each of us has displayed astonishing abilities to connect with our environment, to grow and to make things better through the dynamic resources at hand. We cannot but live in the midst of wholes, i.e., systems, and to make the most of it. Without potent abilities to connect and co-create, none of us would be here or read these lines. Our early endowment for reaching out and attuning to our environment has been the foundation of our developmental processes since early infancy. It is remarkable that leading researchers in infant studies use the concept of a system to describe what may be the single most warmly attuned domain of human life, the infant-mother relationship. For us this is paradigmatic: while almost totally 7 Being Better Better – Living with Systems Intelligence ignorant of the objective functioning of her environment, the infant enters a system that supports her development and makes possible her growth. Facial mirroring, vocal rhythm, spatial orientation, touching and self-touching are among the non- conceptual means that the baby utilizes as part of her own active participation in that dance. Very much a participant