ABEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SYSTEMS THINKING Edited by Colleen Lannon PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 319 Littleton Road • Westford, MA 01886-4133 USA Phone 781-398-9700 / 800-272-0945 • Fax 781-894-7175 [email protected] • [email protected] ©2008 Pegasus Communications, Inc. www.pegasuscom.com TOOLBOX SYSTEMS THINKING AS A LANGUAGE BY MICHAEL R. GOODMAN L anguage has a subtle, yet powerful Diagrams also facilitate learning. ceptions of a problem into black-and- effect on the way we view the Studies have shown that many people learn white pictures that can reveal subtle differ - world. English, like most other Western best through representational images, such ences in viewpoint. languages, is linear—its basic sentence con - as pictures or stories. A systems diagram is Example : In one systems thinking struction, noun-verb-noun, translates into a powerful means of communication course, a team of managers was working a worldview of “x causes y.” This linearity because it distills the essence of a problem on an issue they had been wrestling with predisposes us to focus on one-way rela - into a format that can be easily remem - for months. One manager was explaining tionships rather than circular or mutually bered, yet is rich in implications and his position, tracing through the loops he causative ones, where x influences y, and y insights. had drawn, when a team member stopped in turn influences x. Unfortunately, many him. “Does that model represent your of the most vexing problems confronting thinking about this problem?” he asked. managers and corporations today are The presenter hesitated a bit, reviewed caused by a web of tightly interconnected A systems diagram is a his diagram, and finally answered, “Yes.” circular relationships. To enhance our powerful means of The first man, evidently relieved, understanding and communication of such communication because it responded, “After all of these months, I problems, we need a language more natu - finally really understand your thoughts on distills the essence of a rally suited to the task. this issue. I disagree with it, but at least problem into a format that can now that we are clear on our different ELEMENTS OF THE be easily remembered, yet is viewpoints, we can work together to clar - LANGUAGE ify the problem.” rich in implications and insights. Systems thinking can be thought of as a • Allows examination and inquiry. language for communicating about com - Systems diagrams can be powerful means plexities and interdependencies. In particu - for fostering a collective understanding of lar, the following qualities make systems • Adds precision. The specific set of a problem. Once individuals have stated thinking a useful framework for discussing “syntactical” rules that govern systems dia - their understanding of the problem, they and analyzing complex issues: grams greatly reduce the ambiguities and can col-laborate on addressing the chal - • Focuses on “closed interdependen - miscommunications that can occur when lenges it poses. And by focusing the discus - cies.” The language of systems thinking is we tackle complex issues. sion on the diagrams, systems thinking circular rather than linear. It focuses on Example : In drawing out the relation - defuses much of the defensiveness that can closed interdependencies, where x influ - ships between key aspects of a problem, arise in a high-level debate. ences y, y influences z, and z influences x. causal links are not only indicated by Example : When carrying on a systems • Offers a “visual” language. Many of arrows, but are labeled “s” (same) or “o” discussion, differing opinions are no longer the systems thinking tools—causal loop (opposite) to specify how one variable viewed as “human resources’ view of our diagrams, behavior over time diagrams, sys - affects another. Such labeling makes the productivity problem” or “marketing’s tems archetypes, and structural diagrams— nature of the relationship more precise, description of decreasing customer satisfac - have a strong visual component. They help ensuring only one possible interpretation. tion,” but simply different structural repre - clarify complex issues by summing up, • Forces an “explicitness” of mental sentations of the system. This shifts the concisely and clearly, the key elements models. The systems thinking language focus of the discussion from whether involved. translates “war stories” and individual per - human resources or marketing is right, to 2 A BEGINNERʼS GUIDE TO SYSTEMS THINKING PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 781.398.9700 constructing a diagram that best captures simple sentences. In the language of sys - Don’t expect to be fluent in systems the behavior of the system. tems thinking, systems diagrams such as thinking right away. Remember, after your • Embodies a worldview that looks at causal loops can be thought of as sen - first few Latin classes, you still couldn’t read wholes, rather than parts, and that rec - tences constructed by linking together The Odyssey. For that matter, you probably ognizes the importance of understanding key variables and indicating the causal knew only a few key phrases and vocabu - how the different segments of a system are relationships between them. By stringing lary words, but you improved your skills by interconnected. An inherent assumption of together several loops, we can create a using the language as often as possible. The the systems thinking worldview is that “paragraph” that tells a coherent story same holds true for systems thinking. problems are internally generated—that we about a particular problem under study. When sitting in a meeting, see if you often create our own “worst nightmares.” If there were a Berlitz guide to systems can inform your understanding of a prob - Example : At systems thinking courses thinking, archetypes such as “Fixes That lem by applying a systems perspective. at Innovation Associates, participants play a Fail” or “Shifting the Burden” would be Look for key words that suggest linear board game known as the Beer Game, listed as “commonly used phrases.” They thinking is occurring—statements such as where they assume the position of retailer, provide a ready-made library of common “we need more of the same” or “that solu - wholesaler, distributor, or producer. Each structures and behaviors that can apply to tion worked for us the last time this hap - player tries to achieve a careful balance many situations. Memorizing them can pened, why not use it again?”You can also between carrying too much inventory or create low-key practice sessions by work - being backlogged. When things go wrong, ing with a small team of colleagues to dia - many people blame their supplier (“I kept An inherent assumption of the gram a particular problem or issue. ordering more, but he didn’t respond”) or BECOMING FLUENT the buyers (“fickle consumers—one day systems thinking worldview is they’re buying it by the truckload, the next that problems are internally We say someone is fluent when they begin day they won’t even touch the stuff”). In generated—we often create our to think in a particular language and no reality, neither the buyers nor the suppliers longer have to translate. But fluency means own “worst nightmares.” are responsible for the wide fluctuations in more than just an ability to communicate inventory—they are a natural consequence in a language; it means understanding the of the structure of the system in which the surrounding culture of the language—the players are functioning. help you recognize a business situation or worldview. As with any foreign language, The systems thinking worldview dis - problem that is exhibiting common symp - mastering systems thinking will allow us to pels the “us versus them” mentality by toms of a systemic breakdown. fully engage in and absorb the worldview expanding the boundary of our thinking. Of course, the key to becoming more that pervades it. By learning the language Within the framework of systems thinking, proficient in any language is to practice— of systems thinking, we will hopefully “us” and “them” are part of the same sys - and practice often. When reading a news - change not only the way we discuss com - tem and thus responsible for both the paper article, for example, try to plex issues, but the way we think about problems and their solutions. “translate” it into a systems perspective: them as well. • • Take events reported in the newspaper LEARNING THE and try to trace out an underlying pattern Michael Goodman is an associate director of LANGUAGE Innovation Associates, Inc. (Cambridge, MA). The that is at work. material in this article was drawn from his 20 years Learning systems thinking can be likened • Check whether the story fits one of the of experience in the field, as well as from business to mastering a foreign language. In systems archetypes, or whether it is per - courses developed by Innovation Associates. school, we studied a foreign language by haps a combination of several archetypes. first memorizing the essential vocabulary • Try to sketch out a causal loop or two words and verb conjugations. Then we that captures the structure producing that This article was originally published in The Systems began putting together the pieces into pattern. Thinke r® V2N3, April 1991. 3 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. WWW.PEGASUSCOM.COM A BEGINNERʼS GUIDE TO SYSTEMS THINKING TOOLBOX THE VOCABULARY OF SYSTEMS THINKING: A POCKET GUIDE S ystems thinking can serve as a lan - system are interrelated. A CLD takes the GFDs show how one variable, such as guage for communicating about form of a closed loop that depicts cause- delivery delays, interacts with another, complexity and interdependencies. To be and-effect linkages. such as sales, by plotting the relationship fully conversant in any language, you must Drifting Goals —A systems archetype. In a between the two over the entire range of gain some mastery of the vocabulary, espe - “Drifting Goals” scenario, a gradual relevant values.