Many of us are familiar with the following drill: Corporate pushes a new program, and each department must come up with its own plans …

Ihave been writing and re-writing this guide (Introduction to Systems Thinking with STELLA, 1985–2000) for 15 years. I always begin by reeling off a …

“What would be more interesting to you,” I ask an audience of executives, “engaging in a dialogue on learning how to coach or one …

Managers in today’s organizations are continually confronted with new challenges and increased performance expectations. At the same time, they are bombarded by a bewildering …

Toolbox Reprint Series Systems Archetypes II Using Systems Archetypes to Take Effective Action More than just a “how-to” guide; this companion guide to our bestselling …

The world economy is in the midst of a profound change—one that is creating huge shifts in the way companies are organizing to provide …

Distinguish Between Actual and Perceived Conditions Perceptions and reality often differ, and it is usually important to capture these differences in your causal diagrams. The …

AUTHORS’ NOTE: We’d like to thank and honor Carolyn Baldwin, a pioneering educator and World Café host, for coining the phrase “conversational leadership”; strategic illustrator …

Consider the plight of a small “mom and pop” lawn care company. The owners faced periodic cash shortages due to the cyclical nature of …

This year’s annual Systems Thinking in Action Conference explored both the promise and the reality of the learning organization through the theme, “Learning Organizations …

Imagine picking up a newspaper and reading that the country’s largest petroleum company has petitioned the government to increase the gasoline tax at the …

Stop asking so many questions,” many children hear at home. “Don’t give me the question, give me the answer,” many students hear at school.

Daily, we are exposed to information from a multitude of sources: the media, newspapers, radio, T. V., and the Internet. Generally this kind of …

Trust is a subject close to many people’s hearts. Whenever I make presentations on this subject, I never cease to be amazed by the …

In response to growing environmental and social equity problems, hundreds of private and public “sustainable development” initiatives have blossomed across the globe since the …

In this issue’s Toolbox it may be helpful to lay out the full array of systems thinking tools from which this column draws. You can …

Does your organization focus too much on the short term? Do you often use quick fixes? Do you find yourself saying; “We’ve been in this …

The latest volume of the acclaimed Toolbox Reprint Series, Daniel Kim takes a deeper look at the “signature” patterns of behavior associated with each systems …

Organizations today suffer from a severe disability when it comes to solving problems. In virtually every organization, regardless of mission and function, people are …

What should be the outcome of a systems education? We do not expect most students to spend their lives in front of a computer …

The parable of the blind men and the elephant illustrates how our individual perceptions (what Peter Senge calls our “mental models”) can lead to …

Language has a subtle, yet powerful effect on the way we view the world. English, like most other Western languages, is linear—its basic sentence …

Many readers of The Systems Thinker are familiar with the systems archetypes developed in the mid- 1980s based on the work of Jay Forrester, …

Systems thinking is different from most other problem-solving tools because it takes into account the fact that we are a part of the system …

So you’ve read The Fifth Discipline, attended the Pegasus “Systems Thinking in Action” Conference, bought simulation software, and created your first computer models. You’re …

Today’s workforce represents a broad range of age groups. As a result of college internships, modern healthcare, antidiscrimination laws, and a plethora of lifestyle …

Decision-makers often turn to computer models when they face a problem too “big” to grasp all at once. Having the computer keep track of …

Systems thinking began as a set of analytic tools, but perhaps its greatest impact is as a language for collective inquiry, learning, and action.

We live in an era of massive institutional failure,” says Dee Hock, founder and CEO emeritus of Visa International. We need only look around …

Total Quality Control and systems thinking have complementary strengths that can greatly enhance an organization’s ability to improve its performance. How? Through a more balanced …

The Systems Thinker (TST): What are the two or three new big ideas for management in the 21st century? Peter Senge: Organizations will have to …

As members of communities and organizations, many people feel their days (and their energy!) being consumed by contentious conflicts between diverse stakeholder groups. Organizations …

Just the other day, a colleague made a comment reminiscent of so many similar remarks:, “You worked in a hospital. You understand all there …

TEAM TIP Although this article focuses specifically on the issue of weight management, some of the lessons are relevant for organizational issues; for …

You’ve heard the news—many U. S. companies are cutting their operations dramatically in response to falling investor confidence, stock prices, and revenues. Many major …

TEAM TIP Apply this method to anticipate— and avoid—unintended consequences before taking action. Irecently read an article by Daniel Aronson called “Targeted …

Where there are people, there is conflict. It affects us all. The failure to communicate effectively, or to communicate at all, is a leading …

The systems thinking community has always considered stock and flow diagrams to be important tools, and recognition of their key place in the …

Either way you spell it, this former CEO’s name is “mud.” Though the pun may be entertaining, the result of failing to explore “unthinkable” …

An old Winnie the Pooh cartoon sketch shows Christopher Robin dragging Edward the Bear down a set of stairs by one arm, while the …

You are fly fishing, standing knee-deep in the Housotonic River, which tumbles down the western edge of Connecticut. As you cast for the fifth …

Once you have a basic knowledge of stocks and flows, you can begin converting CLDs to stock and flow diagrams. The steps we describe …

Over the years, many people devoted to sustainability have used the phrase “the triple bottom line” to articulate strategy. They don’t focus solely on …

If the element in greatest evidence in a school system is “young people,” and the second most prevalent feature is “desks,” surely a close …

TEAM TIP Look for things that rise and fall in your organization, such as employee motivation, product sales, progress on goals, etc. What are …

We are living on the knife’s edge of one of those rare and momentous turning points in human history. Liveable lives for our grandchildren, …