Systems thinking is not a natural act. Mind evolution has favoured to deal with the immediate, surface features of things. In our environment.

When people hear or read the word system. They often think of complex machinery. Like what you see in cars, machines, airplanes, etc. They assume it’s something that only engineers deal with.

Everyone forgets that everything is part of a system. Our Earth is one big system, and so are our bodies, society, and more.

Most of us think of systems as complicated things running in the background. And that’s true—but systems are everywhere. And we must deal with it.

Many challenges in business and the public sector go unsolved due to a lack of systems thinking.

We often misunderstand what a system is. it’s not components, but rather parts that interact together to achieve a task or goal.

We rely on our brains, which evolved to handle immediate. Surface-level problems rather than complex systems. This makes us focus on short-term solutions and visible symptoms.

I understand that our brains alone aren’t equipped for systems thinking. It overwhelms our cognitive abilities.

But we can’t ignore systems thinking for that reason or solve human problems based only on what’s visible.

We have to recognize interconnection of our environment at every level. Whether social, political, environmental, or economic.

Example of system thinking

The packaged food you buy off the shelf at your local grocery store is part of an interconnected system. It goes through various systems, including:

Farmers, vendors/food manufactures, food health regulators, logistics, and stores.

Let’s break down the farming system at a high level. What are the main elements that interact within it?

The main elements in the farming system include land. crops/seeds. fertilizers. farming equipment. water irrigation systems. workers. and fuel for the equipment.

If there’s a challenge within the farming system, we need to map it out to understand its impact on the entire system. If not understood and solved. It will affect other interconnected systems, such as price increases or a decrease in quality.

Systems thinking is important. It’s not our default way of thinking. But we need to apply it by using tools that help us map the system and address all the factors causing the problem.

A system consist of people, tools, technology, processes, and support systems. Each part has a task to do to deliver the end result.

I know most of us dislike complexity. I understand that our minds struggle to comprehend interconnected systems. With many moving parts in the background.

But with mapping tools, we can break down the system, visualize it, and understand how it works. Identify areas to improve.

The more we merge ideas. And connect with each other at business, social, and political levels. The more complex things become. You have no choice but to think in systems.

Why system thinking is important

Many leaders consider systems thinking one of the crucial management skills of the 21st century.

This is because:

1. It enables leaders to thrive amidst escalating complexity, uncertainty, and change.

2. It provides a holistic understanding of complex contexts.

3. It fosters shared leadership and collaboration

Systems thinking in business/public sector/life offers several advantages:

1. It reveals causality and mental models, informing better strategic decision-making.

2. It reduces unintended consequences of business activities.

3. It helps in better navigating risks, barriers, and opportunities

How to think in system

Make system thinking a habit so it becomes intuitive to your mind. There are different types of system maps you can use. Such as process maps, journey maps, diagram maps, and cluster maps. You can start mapping on your own. Without use of tools.

The idea is to grab a pen and paper or work on a digital whiteboard. And start mapping out the challenge or problem you’re dealing with.

"Start by mapping the process of the main activity that is facing the challenge. Depending on the type of activity, you’ll know which type of system map or tool to use.

As you map, ideas will bounce and your brain will trigger what else to map. That include tasks at each step, tools used at each step, technology used at each step, and other people involved in some or all of these steps.

It’s about mapping everything that interacts in your environment. In form of inputs and outputs.

When it comes to mapping, you must define the start and the end. This is something you should do at the beginning.

Let’s take this example:

You wake up early, but still arrive late to work.

This is your challenge. Let’s start by mapping the main activity.

We need to frame the challenge: it starts from the time you get out of bed and ends when you walk into the office.

• Alarm goes off: Task—get up.

• Go to the washroom: Do your thing, grab your phone, check emails, social media, and read here and there.

• Take a shower: Enjoy shower thoughts, scrub your body, relax in the warm water, and embrace the meditative mood.

• Put on clothes: Try different outfits, then decide.

• Leave the house.

• Stop by the coffee shop: Order and wait in line, get coffee, and chat with people you know for a few minutes.

• Take public transit: Check your phone until you arrive.

• Walk to the office.

This is a simple exercise to map your morning system and identify areas for improvement. Interconnection of things that work in sequence—one action impacts the next

If you were to fix this. you could either stop activities that take up most of your time, like spending time on your phone, long showers, and chit-chatting. or wake up even earlier if you want to keep these activities

Without mapping and understanding the feelings, experiences, and tasks involved. The mind can’t visualize those details and see the system as a whole.

With system thinking, we deliver better solutions. Without failing or wasting time and money.

Thank you for reading. We’ll talk in the next letter.

Ahmed

By the way, here is:

1. A fun way to connect with people that leads to opportunities Toilet Mind

2. A course of problem solving strategies in business Creative System Thinking

3. A new way to innovate and solve business challenges Neo Strateje