point
The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

What If Business Took Systems Thinking Seriously?

Bob Doppelt
Executive Director-The Resource Innovation Group
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Bob Doppelt
Bob Doppelt is the Executive Director of The Resource Innovation Group (TRIG) and an adjunct professor in the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management at the University of Oregon where he teaches systems thinking and global warming policy. He is the author of From Me to We: The Five Transformational Commitments Required to Rescue the Planet, Your Organization, and Your Life. For more information, please visit, www.me-to-we.org.

The economy is in the tank and thousands of people are out of work. At the same time, the planet is dangerously heating up and ecological systems are declining. What are we to make of these troubles? Are they merely the result of poor policies? Or is something more fundamental at play?

The roots of our difficulties are simple, yet for many business leaders completely hidden from view. The activities of most firms, and the goals and structure of the economy as a whole, have been shaped by fundamental misjudgments about how the planet functions and what it means to live a good life.

To resolve today's challenges, our leaders must overcome the erroneous perspectives that created the predicament. At the most fundamental level, this requires moving from a ‘linear’ way of thinking—where we focus on quickly fixing the most visibly broken parts of what isn’t working--to a 'systems' perspective that brings our thinking and behavior into line with the natural laws of sustainability.

Despite years of talk about systemic thinking, few companies actually practice it. This is due, in part, to the lack of a simple framework to guide the implementation of a systems perspective.


Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Share on facebook