Making Better Decisions Using Systems Thinking: How to stop firefighting, deal with root causes and deliver permanent solutions

Description

This book provides a framework to help managers go beyond simply fighting fires every day, offering the tools to address the underlying causes of recurring problems and deliver long-term solutions. The most obvious part of any problem is the pain it causes. The desire to end the pain and find a solution – any solution – that will make it go away now is usually so great that it blinds managers to the underlying systemic cause of the problem. The result is that we ‘solve’ the problem today and then it comes back again tomorrow or next week, again and again. We are only addressing the symptoms but never understanding the cause – like picking the flower heads off weeds but not digging them out at the roots. Schaveling and Bryan offer the insights and tools managers and leaders need to achieve a longer term and more effective approach by stepping back and analysing the system as a whole. And at the heart of any system are human beings – notoriously short-term and pain-averse creatures who will behave in whatever way minimises pain today even at the expense of pain tomorrow. They show how to detect the behavior patterns that have become engrained in the organisation and which underlie complex situations so that root causes of problems can be identified. Once the system responsible for the problem is understood smarter decisions can be made to devise interventions that solve the core problem instead of wasting energy fighting the symptoms. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Making Better Decisions Using Systems Thinking (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 1-3 What Is Systems Thinking? (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 5-11 The Evolutionary Heritage (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 13-18 Good Management: Dealing Wisely with Dilemmas (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 19-25 A Systemic View of Organisations (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 27-35 Impatient Managers Create Chaos (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 37-43 The Value Creation Model (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 45-50 The Value Creation Model in Action (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 51-57 What Has Been Done When the Work Is Done? (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 59-63 Driving Forces that Generate and Sustain Patterns (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 65-73 Two Driving Forces in Depth: Mental Models and Team Learning (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 75-79 Looking Under the Surface of the Lily Pond: Applying Systems Thinking in Six Steps (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 81-91 Pitfalls of Short Time Horizon (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 93-102 Pitfalls of Not Looking Far Enough Around You (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 103-112 Pitfalls of Fear of Facing Reality (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 113-123 Pitfall of a Combination of Short Time Horizon and Not Looking Far Enough Around You (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 125-132 Pitfalls of a Combination of Short Time Horizon, Not Looking Far Enough Around You and Fear of Facing Reality (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 133-140 Adaptive Leadership (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 141-149 Systemic Pitfalls in Cooperation; The Pitfalls from a Bird’s Eye View (Jaap Schaveling, Bill Bryan)....Pages 151-160 Back Matter ....Pages 161-173