Category: Articles
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Check In, Check Out: A Tool for “Real” Conversations
Your daughter was sick last night and you didn’t get much sleep. Tony’s car was rear-ended on the way to the office. Vivian has…
Using Causal Loop Diagrams to Make Mental Models Explicit
Making mental models explicit can enhance both individual and organizational learning by making individual learning more accessible and therefore more easily transferable to the…
What Are Mental Models?
In writing and teaching people about systems thinking, my colleagues and I at I see systems often refer to “mental models.” For some people,…
Operational Thinking
The first three systems thinking skills help you establish an extensive (breadth) and intensive (depth) boundary for your mental or computer-based model. The next…
Systems Thinking as a Language
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…
Guidelines for Daily Systems Thinking Practice
Individual Practice Becoming a seasoned systems thinker starts with a strong commitment to developing your own awarenesses and skills. Ask Different Questions. Systems thinking offers…
Moving from Knower to Learner
Contrary to popular opinion, learning is not the process of merely accumulating more information. You have “learned” something only when you can produce a…
From Causal Loops to Graphical Functions: Articulating Chaos
This month we continue our look at Graphical Function Diagrams (GFD). GFD’s help us visually see how two variables are interrelated by plotting the relationship…
Balancing Loops with Delays
A simple balancing loop can be thought of as a basic control loop. In this type of feedback loop, any discrepancies between desired…
Creating Business Results Through Team Learning
As of 1993, Sigma Tech (a fictional name) was one of the most successful small corporations in the U.S. The company’s business was both…