Our Febrauary book “Stepping in Wholes” tackles the process of Systems Thinking. As the authors eloquently state, “ Thinking in complex systems is a way to see the world, looking at wholes and their interactive pieces instead of the constituent parts.” Most organizations teach and practice linear thinking, sacrfacing the whole while focusing on the indivdiual parts of a system. Some common symptoms of linear thinking (taken from Chapter 4) include:
• A reoccurring problem that won’t go away, no matter what you do to solve the problem.
• Lots of complaining and sour attitudes; just shifting the topic of the complaint; there is even complaining about the complaining.
• Policies and rules that actually hinder the stated goals and purposes of the organization.
• Organizations that never seem to get anywhere; they just stay busy fighting the daily fires.
• Logical people who sit in a committee and make illogical decisions.
• Organizations that never seem to get anything done.
• A few people, usually the fussiest and most-disliked, seem to control the agenda of the organization.
• The more an organization tries to change, the more they seem to stay the same.
Luckily, Jim Ohloff & Michael Walcheski offer a cure to linear thinking by giving an overview of complex systems. In “Stepping in Wholes” the authors highlight the basics of complex adaptive systems, allowing the reader to take advantage of the forces in their organization to create lasting, positive changes.
Join us on February 8th to discuss your thoughts and experience with your organization!
