Systems Thinking vs Other Approaches cut out the noise
How is Systems Thinking Different from other Potential Approaches?
The Agile Methodology, Lean Thinking and Six Sigma are methods for improvement – they improve the ‘how’ in business and are important methodologies in being more efficient at doing what you are doing now. If the problem is “what do I do?” e.g. “my existing product line is becoming less and less popular – how do I move on from this?” systems thinking will consider what to do and then how to do it.
There are many mathematical optimisation approaches. These work well if a situation can be analysed using data, But, getting valid and useful data for these models takes time if it is available at all. Making sure that the models are right also takes a lot of time. Systems thinking can be applied swiftly and does not rely on having data, although it can be enhanced with data if this is needed.
Some people just pick an option and hope for the best. These ad hoc approaches are not optimal, they don’t involve all stakeholders and can’t address root causes.
Why is Systems Thinking better?
It can be applied swiftly and is inexpensive
It takes account of multiple perspectives and doesn’t impose a direction on any group of stakeholders
It doesn’t need data, although if data is available this can be incorporated
Systems thinking is different because:
It can be applied to a very broad range of problems
It helps stakeholders with problems where there is no agreement as to what should be done and how it should be done
System thinking is better because:
It is less expensive than traditional methods
The approach can be adjusted easily as new information comes to light
It works really well on problems that are difficult to define
It allows the real problem to emerge and reduces the chance of solving the wrong problem well
What is my unfair advantage?
I have worked on some truly complex problems within the UK government, many of which were ‘stuck’. I have worked with stakeholders in every emotional state possible. I have worked with academic colleagues who are international experts in their field and have co-supervised a PhD student with one of these international experts. This has led me to have a very good view of the
academic and practical issues that are involved in delivering excellent systems thinking. I have helped to move complex projects on and found solutions for many. In doing this I have tuned and refined my approach so that I can deliver value more quickly. I have also developed a “sixth sense” that helps me to quickly find the real barriers to an activity moving forward. From this I can recommend ways of breaking through the barriers.
Worked example: UK Reserve Recruitment System
In 2014 the UK reserve forces were not performing in the way that was needed. The ‘trained strength’, the number of military personnel that were fully trained, was below its target by over 10,000 people. A numerical analysis of this would have established targets and tried to generate growth using the existing system. But the heart of the problem was that the existing system was unable to deliver the changes needed. Systems thinking can be used to transform organisations. In this case systems thinking was applied in three phases: Phase 1 – establish a clear requirement for the recruitment system. Phase 2 – audit the existing system against a template of “viability”, using the Viable System Model. Phase 3 – apply numerical analysis to consider the performance of the existing system.
The outcome of this holistic analysis was to identify gaps in many key areas – particularly in information management. A set of recommendations were made to the staff responsible for the system. As soon as the recommendations were implemented the number of trained personnel increased at a rate that would have hit the target for increasing the reserve population.
