Systems Thinking
Many social, economical or environmental challenges in our current society may often seem independent, but they are, in fact, deeply interconnected and share common root causes. By adopting a systems thinking approach, we are viewing issues like for example healthcare, education, urban planning, defence and energy as part of a larger, interwoven system. By understanding these challenges within their broader context, we can better address the underlying factors that link them, rather than treating them as isolated problems.
Seeing the Elephant
Systems Thinking focuses on understanding by integrating all the pieces rather than separating them. It views events through a systemic lens, paying attention to the relationships and feedback loops that shape how things work and what results they produce. By looking at challenges in their broader context—whether within a company, a city, a sector, or the global economy—we can find sustainable solutions. Tackling problems in isolation often backfires (The Indian parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant), leading to new and worse issues. Systems thinking helps us navigate these complexities and develop strategies for long-term resilience.
Uncovering underlying patterns
A community keeps dealing with recurring floods, and the usual quick fixes aren’t cutting it. So, the leaders bring together residents, engineers, and local officials to figure out what’s really going on. Using group model building, they dig deeper, uncovering not just the visible floods but also the patterns and underlying causes, like poor land use and deforestation. They realize the real problem lies in the deeper structures and beliefs, like prioritizing short-term gains over long-term sustainability. By focusing on these root causes, the group moves from just patching up problems to creating solutions that actually stick. This approach shows the power of tackling issues at their core rather than just dealing with the surface symptoms.
Patterns to Leverage
Systems thinking aims to reveal the underlying interrelationships and structures of a complex system. System maps are powerful visualization tools that can help change agents describe and diagnose the current state of a given system, understand how system structure creates the observable outcomes, create a shared vision of the system, gain consensus about the challenges, and identify opportunities. Once we have this shared view of the system, we can then start to think about places to intervene. Leverage points in systems thinking are places within a system where small adjustments can lead to big changes. By focusing on these areas—like feedback loops, structures, or underlying assumptions—we can create more impactful and lasting improvements. Leveraging these points helps us tackle the root causes of problems, not just the symptoms, leading to real, meaningful change in complex situations.
The Power of Digital Twins
A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical system, created through system modeling, that mirrors real-world operations in real-time. By using these models, we can simulate various scenarios and test potential changes or interventions before implementing them in the real world. The advantage of simulating ‘a priori’—before making any actual changes—is that it allows us to foresee potential outcomes: you can identify potential risks ahead of time. This allows to reduce uncertainty and optimize strategies without the cost or risk of real-world experimentation.
