In This Issue

Feature
Blind Spots in Learning and Inference
by Gipsie Ranney

We all face an onslaught of information daily. We use some of that information to learn and make inferences. As we do so, it helps to know about and avoid potential blind spots. In this article, Gipsie Ranney points out some of these blind spots, using several examples taken from business and from the reports and analyses of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.
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Viewpoint
It’s Not a Behavioral Problem; It’s the System
by John Wenger

As systems thinkers know, we can’t blame individuals for doing what the system expects them to do. Our environment sets up conditions that compel us to behave in particular ways. The system also punishes us for not doing what it wants us to do. If we want effective organizational transformation, we need to work with the whole system by eliminating systems blindness, creating a vision, and grappling with the “how-to.”
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Pegasus Classics
Managing with Accumulators and Flows
by Kellie T. Wardman and Daniel H. Kim

A common principle of systems thinking is that “there is no away.” Every material thing we make and use must come from somewhere and go somewhere. Seeing the world in terms of accumulators (or stocks) and flows forces us to be more conscious of the full supply chain—both the source and depletion of materials. By looking at organizational issues from this perspective, we can better see “the big picture” and identify the source of problems rather than just the symptoms.
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