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I have been on some level a systems thinker for most of my life, some components of it are just natural to me. I would honestly say on the base level it is simply how I think. When I was 17 I joined the Army and chose the path of being a Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic and learned systemic trouble shooting, which gave me a formal concept of “systems thinking”, however, I didn’t yet even know the term.
In my early days of attempting to build a career I had a lot of friction with people I worked for. I would constantly seek to improve processes and they were middle managers with no real interest in my ideas. As I began to run teams and had decision making ability I was able to put processes in place and this above all is what made me move up in the world quickly.
Soon I was building my own companies with an amazing partner, but I still didn’t even know the name of what I was doing. Then in 2008 I started TSPC and soon after that found Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton and their work in Permaculture. As I began to study the design science of Permaculture I came across the term “systems thinking” in one of their lectures. I had to pause it at that moment, consider the term and then said to myself, “so that is what I am”.
Since that time I have tried to always approach everything at a systems level, today we talk about that.
Join Me Today to Discuss…
- What is Systems Thinking – How different parts work together to create a bigger picture
- Holistic vs. Reductionist Thinking – Seeing the whole picture vs. focusing on the parts
- Types of Systems – Mechanical, biological, social, and ecological
- Feedback Loops – Self-reinforcing or balancing cycles within a system
- Stocks and Flows – Resources and their movement within a system
- Emergent Properties – New behaviors that arise from the interaction of parts
- Causality and Causal Loops – Cause and effect cycles within a system
- Leverage Points – Key areas where small changes create big impacts
- Systems Archetypes – Common patterns of behavior in systems
- Resilience and Adaptation – Ability to recover and evolve in response to change
- Ways to develop systems thinking in your life
- Practice Seeing the Big Picture – Focus on how everything connects
- Use Causal Loop Diagrams – Visualize cause and effect cycles
- Think in Terms of Long-Term Consequences – Consider future impacts of actions
- Challenge Your Mental Models – Question assumptions and beliefs
- Engage in Iterative Learning – Learn and improve through ongoing feedback
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Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.
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