The Art Of Thinking In Systems

There are many different types of thinking. No one type of thinking is better than

the others. They are all useful in certain situations. We shouldn’t only use one

type of thinking to the exclusion of all others. This chapter will examine some of

the most common types of thinking and how they can be helpful in our lives.

Linear Thinking

Linear thinking is the way we were typically taught to think throughout our

lives. It involves looking for a link between a cause and an effect. This type of

thinking believes that one cause has one effect. Linear thinking tells us that there

is a cause and an effect, a problem and a solution, and a beginning and an

ending. This model of thinking looks for a simple one-to-one connection.

Linear thinking can be quite helpful in solving specific kinds of problems. For

example, your cell phone shuts off (effect) because the battery was dead (cause).

If you plug in your phone and charge the battery, your phone will work again. Or

you overslept (effect) because your alarm wasn’t set (cause). If you set your

alarm, you won’t oversleep the next time. Linear thinking is a quick and easy

way to find a solution to a problem.

Linear thinking also comes with its drawbacks. It doesn’t look at things as

complex systems and chooses only to focus on one small piece of a much larger

puzzle. There is often much more to any given situation than linear thinking

allows us to examine. When we focus on just one small part without taking into

account how it is connected to a larger system, it is possible that our solutions

may create unintended consequences that are not always beneficial.

EventOriented Thinking

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Event-oriented thinking does view the world as being more complex than linear

thinking typically does, but it thinks of life as being made up of a series of

events and not as a system. In this thinking model, an event is something that

happened or is going to happen. Every event is believed to have a cause, and if

we change the cause, the event will also be changed.

Our brains like event-oriented thinking. Our brains feel good about handling

problems that are simple and familiar to us. From the earliest human history, we

planted crops in the spring so we could harvest them in the fall and still have

enough to eat in the winter and throughout the year, we lived near water so we

could have easy access to drinking water, fish for food, and a path for

transportation. We made sharp arrowheads to help us to hunt better, and we

banded together in groups to help us to stay safe and make sure that everyone’s

needs were being met. Event-oriented thinking is the foundation for our logic. If

we do A, then B will happen. This type of thinking is quick, easy to apply, and

easily understood.

Event-oriented thinking is ineffective in dealing with complex problems or

systems. As our society has changed over time, event-oriented thinking has not

evolved along with it. The problems we are faced with today often require a

deeper understanding than event-oriented thinking allows. Events can have more

than one cause, and each cause can have multiple causes as well. If we don’t

take these more complex relationships into account, we can also mistakenly miss

the unintended consequences that may result when we begin to alter systems.

That is beyond the scope of event-oriented thinking.

Lateral Thinking

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Lateral thinking involves more creative thinking that isn’t immediately obvious to those who rely heavily upon traditional step-by-step, logical thinking to reach

conclusions. Lateral thinking was invented by Edward De Bono in 1967. He

developed techniques for creative thinking to counteract the natural tendency of

the human brain to want to lock in our thinking until it becomes an automatic,

subconscious habit.

Lateral thinking strives to generate new and innovative ideas in a way that we

can easily repeat over time. Lateral thinking is beneficial when you are trying to

get beyond thinking of problems as having one set solution and want to expand

your thinking beyond the patterns you have typically thought in. It is particularly

helpful in brainstorming sessions and when the desired outcome is invention or

innovation.

The disadvantage with lateral thinking is that a clear objective and ending point

may not be identified. This type of thinking lacks some of the structure and goals

that other types of thinking capitalize on. The nature of lateral thinking is that no

idea is discouraged, so all ideas are initially given the same weight, even if they

are inappropriate. This may cost you precious time or get the problem-solving

process off track.

Critical Thinking

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Critical thinking involves analyzing facts in an objective manner so that a

judgment can be reached. It also often entails thinking about your thinking and

reflecting on the way you are reaching decisions in order to overcome any biases

and improve the quality and efficiency of your cognition.

Critical thinking is effective when you are trying to find logical connections

between ideas. Critical thinkers don’t accept things at face value; they dig deeper

to be sure that there is rational thought and solid reasoning behind any

information they are presented with before they accept it as true. It is highly

beneficial when a systematic approach to solving a problem is needed.

This type of thinking is very helpful in many ways. It may just need to be

monitored to make sure that it isn’t taken to an extreme. Healthy skepticism and

a questioning of points of view is an important life skill, as long as the

skepticism and questioning of authority is with good reason and backed up by

facts.

Systems Thinking

As we have previously discussed, systems thinking is the study and analysis of

systems. A system is a group of interconnected parts that work together toward a

common purpose or function. Systems exhibit certain identifiable characteristics

and consistent patterns of behavior. When one part of a system is changed, all

other components of the system are impacted as well. Systems thinking requires

an understanding of the elements, interconnections, and purpose or function of a

system. The goal is to take that understanding and analysis and be able to apply

it to other systems at any level and in any field. There are different levels of

systems thinking maturity: Level 0 — Unawareness

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Operating at a level 0 of systems thinking means you are totally unaware of the

systems thinking concept.

Level 1 — Shallow Awareness

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This level of systems thinking means that you are aware of the concept of

systems thinking, but you do not exhibit any depth of understanding. You may

feel like you are a systems thinker because you are comfortable speaking using

the terminology that accompanies systems thinking, but you have not exhibited

success in being able to distinguish between a good systems analysis and a bad

one. Many people get stuck in this level of systems thinking maturity.

Level 2 – Deep Awareness

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If you are operating at this level of systems thinking maturity, you are completely aware of the key concepts of systems thinking and you understand

how important this type of thinking is and what can be achieved at its full

potential. You would be able to read and comprehend the casual flow diagrams

and simulations models that are a part of systems thinking, and even be able to

think with feedback loops at a beginning level, but you would not yet be able to

create good diagrams and models of your own. You understand system structure

and know what reinforcing and balancing feedback loops are at this level, and

you can see why the forces that the feedback loops create are so powerful when

it comes to human systems.

Level 3 — Novice

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Operating at this level of maturity means that you have a deep awareness of

systems thinking, and you are even starting to dig into the black box that

assesses why a system behaves in the manner it does. You can now create your

own causal flow diagrams and can use them to help you solve some easy and

moderately difficult problems. A really good novice would also be able to read

simulation models well.

Level 4 — Expert

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If you are at the expert level, you are now able to use system dynamics to create

your own simulation models. You are able to solve difficult and complex social

system problems. Organizations who are working on complicated sustainability

problems would be well-served to have at least one expert leading their team

through the analysis, along with many novice level participants.

Level 5 — Guru

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This level of systems thinking maturity is rarely achieved. If you are a guru, you

can teach other people to become experts, and you are able to offer significant

input in solving the most challenging of social system problems.

If moving beyond shallow awareness of systems thinking is your goal, start by studying the book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning

Organization by Peter Senge. This book was almost single-handedly responsible

for getting a large portion of American businesses onboard with systems

thinking in the 1990s when it was first published. If you carefully read the first

five chapters, you should be much closer to reaching the systems thinking

maturity levels of deep awareness or novice.

If you are serious about advancing your level of systems thinking even further,

possibly to the expert level, continue your studies by reading Business

Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World by John

Sterman. This book will help to elevate you beyond a systems thinker to a

modeler using systems dynamics as a tool.

There is no one right way of thinking. Think of it as being a handyman with a

tool belt full of tools. You may like the hammer, and it might be your favorite. It

may be the one you feel the most comfortable using, and the one you would

choose to reach for every time, if you could. But as good as the hammer is, it is

simply not appropriate, or the most helpful for every job you will encounter. The

types of thinking we have discussed in this chapter are the same way. We may

feel more confident and skilled in using one type of thinking over another.

We may choose to fall back on our favorite, but no matter how much we like it,

it simply will not be the most efficient and helpful for solving every problem we

will encounter. That is why it is so important for us to continue to learn, grow,

and be willing to expand our thinking so that we call fill up our tool belt. We

want to have the best tool possible for solving each problem when we need it.

That is how we can evolve. If we appreciate all types of thinking for the value

they can bring to us while understanding the limits of each one, we will be

prepared to choose the correct thinking method for the appropriate situation.

It doesn’t get much better than that.