Category: Articles
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The Vocabulary of Systems Thinking: A Pocket Guide
Systems thinking can be thought of as a language for communicating about complexity and interdependencies (see “Systems Thinking as a Language,” Viewpoint, April 1991). To…
Thinking Systemically About Strategy
During the mid-1980s, a large high-technology company launched a project to begin thinking more systemically about strategy. “COPEX” (a fictional name) designed, manufactured, sold,…
The Evolution of a Shared Vision
Margaret Wheatley describes vision not just as a destination but as a field that permeates the organization, affecting all employees who bump against it.
Transformational Learning: A Blueprint for Organizational Change
Attempting to bring about organizational change through the internal transformation of individuals is difficult, yet it may be the most effective way. The belief…
Creating Causal Theories
Peasants in southwest France have been selling smelly but delicious black truffles to restaurants for more than $600 a kilo (2.2 lb). Not surprisingly,…
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…
Human Dynamics for the 21st Century
As a global society increasingly becomes a reality and people strive to come together across divisions of culture, religion, race, age, gender, and other…