Systems thinking is a holistic approach to making decisions and problem solving. It's a way of making sense of a complex situation, often with many interrelated dynamic parts.  Systems thinking considers the options available and the likely effect that picking any of these options will have on the stakeholders.

Systems thinking enables companies to transform beyond the current barriers and issues and plan a strategy that places them far ahead of their competitors. System thinking deals with the problem of too much information and data (and sometimes too little). It enables conversations to move groups of stakeholders beyond the barriers of today and establish clear and detailed plans that will change a company.

As an example, a large company board was trying to decide how to maintain access to its staff, and contractors, that consisted of about 500 specialists across the UK. The board members were arguing about different strategies but could make no progress. Using systems thinking techniques a dashboard was prepared that presented the current and future states of the UK national capability clearly and succinctly. The board could then have detailed discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of each option available to them. They could consider the effect of each option on their commercial partners and rivals. This led directly to the organisation creating a national centre of excellence, and to the shaping of that centre so that it fulfilled the mission and vision of its owning organisation.

Ultimately systems thinking enables you to transform business because you can make good decisions for your organisation by understanding the impact and outcomes of decision making on the whole system not just one standalone part resulting in reducing costs, wasted resources and encouraging growth transformation.

All organisations, whatever their size or purpose are comprised of multiple systems interacting to achieve goals. When only one part of the system or problem is addressed not only is there the potential to create imbalance, a rapidly contrived solution doesn’t help long-term growth or transformation. Taking a systems thinking perspective within your organisation enables you to create a more efficient and dynamic business with a unique competitive advantage. 

Often within an organisation there are many opinions, voices and a hierarchy of decision making. By cutting through the noise of an organsation, systems thinking helps define what the real nub of the problem is and how to address it.

Martin brings a thoughtful and thorough investigative style to project challenges, allowing him to focus accurately on root causes and propose appropriate, often imaginative, solutions to address the problem at hand.

Paul Thompson, Director of Operations, Hatoke Holdings Ltd.

Benefits of a Systems Thinking Approach

simplification

By taking a systems perspective to decision making you are able to simplify processes by removing unnecessary steps, locating effective short cuts, streamlining your operation and reducing costs.

FAQ’s

Q: How does consultancy for systems thinking work?

A: We agree on an aim point for the work and start on an initial activity that will set all the key issues in context. This provides a roadmap to deliver solutions.

Q: What training is available for systems thinking?

A: If you want to become an advanced practitioner I would highly recommend a course of study, such as the Level 7 programme, that can be accessed via your organisation’s apprenticeship levy.  For shorter courses, please contact me and I can arrange one-to-one coaching or a bespoke course for you and your colleagues.

Q: Is everything ‘transformable’ using systems thinking?

Not quite, sadly the approach is not a magic wand but most businesses can be transformed.