Systems thinking#
Systems thinking is a mind-set—a way of seeing and talking about reality that recognizes the interrelatedness of things. System thinking sees collections of interdependent components as a set of relationships and consequences that are at least as important as the individual components themselves. It emphasizes the emergent properties of the whole that neither arise directly, nor are predictable, from the properties of the parts. The vocabulary of formal systems thinking is one of causal loops, unintended consequences, emergence, and system dynamics. Practicing systems theorists employ tools such as systemigrams, archetypes, stock and flow diagrams, interpretive structural modeling, and systemic root cause analysis—all of which is beyond the scope of this post. For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll simply introduce the Iceberg Model and briefly discuss two key concepts in systems thinking—emergence and leverage points. source