Why is Systems Thinking Important?
Strategy in Complexity: Intro to Systems Thinking • 5m 49s
Most of the really important problems in the world occur in complex, adaptive systems: homelessness, unemployment, poverty, pollution and environmental damage, substance abuse--these are all problems of systems. In the business world, all competition occurs in complex, adaptive systems. Leaders who excel in systems thinking have a huge strategic advantage.
Up Next in Strategy in Complexity: Intro to Systems Thinking
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Defining the System
Where does the system start and end? This is a tough question, but it's also extremely important.
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Diversity in the System
What are the differences between the individual elements and their behaviors inside the system? How do those differences affect system overall?
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Long Pathways and Feedback Loops
What are the results of our attempts to change a system? Sometimes the results are very quick and direct, and closely match what we wanted to accomplish. But sometimes the results are very surprising. "Unintended consequences" and feedback loops are both fixtures in complex systems.
