I will finish this module with a true story – though I have changed a few details for the sake of the people involved. It shows clearly the difference that “thinking systemic” can make. The diagram shows me working as a CFE team leader in the field, physically remote...
Now let’s see how things could have been different with a systemic approach. Faced with the problems just described, I sketch the interactions between the parts of the situation. This reminds me that my leadership is mainly concerned with a handful of big accounts. In...
A machine isn’t working and an expert is summoned to fix it. After looking at it carefully, he takes out a hammer and gives the machine a light tap. The machine starts right up. Then the invoice arrives. A thousand dollars!! $5 for hitting the machine with a hammer....
In analytical mode, I break down the objective into subobjectives – as I do when breaking down a computer program into sub-functions. In systemic mode, I do quite the opposite. I ask the question “why?”, and look beyond the immediate objective to find the motivation...
The systemic approach contrasts with the analytical one, and is usually the right approach in complex situations. The list of characteristics that I presented will help you to distinguish between systemic and analytical. Furthermore, a couple of our ICON9 tools embody...
