Category: Articles
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Using “Drifting Goals” to Keep Your Eye on the Vision
As a child, did you ever have a contest to see who could build the tallest house out of playing cards? As you crafted…
The Emergence of Learning Communities
Meeting the challenges that face our society today will require us to go beyond traditional organizational, gender, and ethnic boundaries. Learning in community offers…
From Causal Loop Diagrams to Computer Models — Part II
Last month we outlined a process for turning a causal loop diagram into an accumulator and flow diagram, using the example of staffing decisions.
When to Simulate
Systems thinking offers an array of tools — from systems archetypes to computer models — for improving the quality of decision making. Knowing which…
Management Accounting: Catalyst for Inquiry or Weapon for Control?
Since the 1950s, accounting has increasingly become the “language” of business. The growing importance of accounting systems since that time has led to two…
Entry Points to Modeling: Listening for “Dilemmas”
One of the biggest contributions that systems thinking can make is to help managers build theories about why things happen the way they do.
Measuring a City’s Health
When you fly a plane, you need an instrument panel in front of you, with lights and dials telling you how well the parts…
The Trouble with Incentives: They Work
Years ago, my friend and colleague, David Chambers, told me a story about a consulting visit he and W. Edwards Deming made to a…
Minding the Gap: Social Learning for Turning Ideals into Actions
Humans have been both fascinated and tortured by questions regarding our fate and future for at least as long as we have possessed the…
A Systemic Path to Lean Management
Businesses everywhere have given enormous attention to “lean” management programs for over a decade. However, none emulates what Toyota, the creator of lean, has…