AGC Leadership Team 2001 Becoming a Learning Organization Systems Thinking

What is a system? zA group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent components that form a complex and unified whole. zSystems contain both tangible and intangible objects. zExamples: natural systems and human- made nonliving systems

Characteristics of systems: 1. A system’s parts must all be present for the system to carry out its purpose optimally. 2. A system’s parts must be arranged in a specific way for the system to carry out its purpose. 3. Systems have specific purposes within larger systems. 4. Systems maintain their stability through fluctuations and adjustments. 5. Systems have feedback.

Sales Company R & D Production People Processes Equipment Interdependent systems within interdependent systems

What is systems thinking? zA school of thought that focuses on: recognizing the interconnections between the parts of a system and synthesizing them into a unified view of the whole. zA discipline for seeing underlying structures.

Systems perspective: zHow am I responsible for this situation?

Systems world view: Structure Patterns Events

Leverage z…where in the system, i.e. in the structure, is there something that if moved a little would result in a huge impact. zYou must identify the arrangement of those elements that are causing the pattern in order to find the leverage point.

Causal Loop Diagramming.. zIs a language to surface, make visible, your understanding (mental model) about what the structure looks like.

The Engineering Exodus zSeveral senior engineers have left the company recently, most of them in the last six months. zWhat’s the event? zWhat’s the pattern?

Behavior over Time (BOT)

Structural Level ( What’s causing more of the exodus?) zSuppose a change in corporate policy has cut both the budget and the number of administrative assistants for the engineering group. Workloads have ballooned; more grumbling about job pressure and as some leave, others’ workloads expand further.

Elements of a system  1. Variables: components of the problem whose value vary over time; that is, go up and down. z2. Behavior over time (BOT) diagrams: captures the history of one or more variables, revealing how they interact over time.  3. Causal loop diagrams: a language to try to surface your mental model about what the structurelooks like.

Identify a systemic problem. z1. Problem is chronic and recurring. z2. Problem has been around long enough to have a history. z3. Problem has been tried to be solved, but attempts either did not work or stopped working after a while. z4. No one has been able to identify an obvious reason for the patterns of BOT. z5. Pattern of problem’s BOT shows one of the classic systems shapes.

Formulating a problem: 1.Identify the problem. 2.Develop a clear, succinct statement of the problem. E.g. Customer service problems have increased 25% over the past year. 3.Identify the variables. 4.Draw a BOT Graph. 5.Draw a causal loop diagram.

Variables… z…are the parts of the problem you’re interested in. z…they are measurable, e.g. up and down

Guidelines for naming variables Use nouns or noun phrases, not verbs or verb phrases. A well-named variable fits into phrases such as “the level of,” “the amount of,” “the number of,” “the size of”. Use a neutral or positive term whenever possible. Remember variables can be concrete entities as well as intangibles.

Behavior over time (BOT): z…a chart or graph that captures the history or trend of one or more variables over time. z…it offers an explicit understanding of how the variables interact over time. z…it shows one of the classic systems shapes of problem behavior.

Causal loop diagramming z…is a language to try to surface your understanding (i.e. your mental model) about what the structure looks like. z…it captures how the variables in the system are interconnected. z…it depicts cause and effect linkages.

Links z…show cause and effect. z…two kinds of links: one symbolizing variables moving in the SAME direction and links symbolizing differences, OPPOSITE, e.g. if this goes up, this does down.

Loops... …a series of links that come back to a beginning point. z Two kinds of loops: z 1. Balancing loops: a balancing process. They bring things to a desired state, keep them there. z 2. Reinforcing loops: compound change in one direction with even more change in that direction. Growth and collapse.

Systems Archetypes zCommon “stories” that recur in different settings. zYou can dig below the surface level of distracting details of the complex situation to see the underlying systemic structure driving the situation. zEight systems archetypes

It is the structural level that holds the key to lasting, high-leverage change. In a systems thinking world view...

AGC Leadership Team 2001 Becoming a Learning Organization Personal Mastery

zLearning to expand our personal capacity to create the results we most desire, and zCreating an organizational environment which encourages all its members to develop themselves towards the goals and purposes they choose

Why personal mastery? zBecause an organization develops along with its people zBecause learning will not endure unless it is sparked by people’s own ardent interest and curiosity.

“Creative” Orientation to Life: zArticulating a personal vision, based on values zSeeing current reality clearly, and choosing zMaking a commitment to creating the results your want.

“It’s not what the vision is. It’s what the vision does.” --Robert Fritz

Personal Values… zDeeply held views, of what we find worthwhile z“Espoused values” and “values in action” zValues in action create dissonance for us zWhat are your values?

Shared vision zStems from linking your personal vision to the AGC’s vision zStems from aligning AGC’s purpose with your own zWhat are AGC’s corporate values?

Personal Vision + AGC vision zWhat would you personally like to see AGC become, for its members’ sake? zWhat kinds of members would it have? zWhat services would it produce? zWhat reputation would it have? zWhat values would it embody?

A Radical Idea… zThat significant changes in an organization’s capabilities to learn will only occur when deep changes in how people think and interact occur. zThe new changes are not “out there” but “in here”

“The illiterate of the year 2000 [or 2001] will not be the individual who cannot read and write but the one who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” --Alvin Toffler

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” --Albert Einstein