System Thinking: a holistic approach to problem solving
The concept of System Thinking was originated in 1956 when the Systems Dynamic Group was created by Professor Jay W. Forrester at the Sloan School of Management at MIT. It is the skill to perform problem-solving in complex systems, which is extremely important for business leaders and team heads.
A system is any kind of entity that is made up of parts that interact with each other, enclosed within a virtual boundary1. Together these parts and their interconnections create a whole, which in turn produces some kind of result.
Therefore, System thinking is all about giving more weight to the inter-dependence and inter-connectivity of the constituents of a system rather than studying them as individual parts. It is a more holistic approach to problem-solving.
System thinking helps you find clusters of order in your vividly chaotic world. It’s a scientific approach to derive certainty out of an uncertain system— to organize the unorganized.
The world is a complex system. It is a network of individuals who have an impact on each other in all sorts of ways. We, directly and indirectly, influence other individuals who share this world with us. This is why system thinking is an essential mental tool. The direction of the political and technical momentum of our world is highly influenced by the interactions of individual human beings.
System Thinking in the Real World
To understand the practical relevance of System Thinking, consider this example.
Rachel is a nutritionist. One of her patients, Rex, is highly obese. She created a diet chart for him and told him to follow it sincerely. Rex couldn't keep up with it. She tried to force it upon him again and again. They had endless conversations about the health risks he is living with. Yet, Rex couldn't follow it, unable to resist the junk food that he was supposed to avoid.
Note that in this case, Rachel was looking through a very individualistic lens, considering that Rex is the only influence on his health condition. However, researchers have found that obesity is affected by a bunch of external factors.
Variables like genetics, biology, individual behavior, social dynamics, the environment, and larger societal forces have a significant impact on one’s health. A study in 2019 even found that people who live closer to fast food joints are more likely to get obese, especially kids.
Now, there are some of the variables that are out of Rachel’s control, and she cannot do anything to eliminate them. Nevertheless, she can use the understanding of these variables to optimize her treatment procedure. Like asking Rex to take a different route to home from work, avoiding his favorite fast food joint, or telling her family to send him to work with homemade lunch every day. Since social dynamics also play a critical role as well, Rachel can take an initiative to organize daily morning walks or cycling routines in her community. The approach of system thinking opens a wide array of solutions that can be implemented.
“We can't impose our will on a system. We can listen to what the system tells us, and discover how its properties and our values can work together to bring forth something much better than could ever be produced by our will alone.”
System thinking helps you zoom out on a particular problem and makes it easier to identify external variables which influence that problem. It reveals the underlying interconnected system that is causing a problem.
There are a lot of mind-mapping3 tools to practice system thinking. You can find downloadable PDFs of all those tools, here. Context Diagram, Decision Matrix, and Quad of Aim are some of my favorite among them.
The solar system, human digestive system, and neurological system are some interesting examples of Systems. They are a part of a bigger whole, yet, it is possible to study them individually.
Donella Meadows’ book, Thinking in Systems, is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about system thinking.
According to a 2012 study, mind-mapping can improve the pace of your work by 44%, and make about 40% more creative. It also improves your memory by 15%.