I recently ended up seeing an eye doctor with a really major problem - I was feeling sleepy the entire day (this often happens with me when I don’t wear specs..weird but true 😀)
No issues with my eye power, but the doctor gave me an eye drop and frankly, it did nothing.
I did some research to get to the real issue - realized that I should get B12 tested. Turned out that my B12 readings were really really low and that’s why I was feeling tired and sleepy all the time.
Why am I boring you with this story? Well, many a times, we often try to solve a problem by taking it head-on vs. actually trying to understand the connectedness of the problem.
That is, linear thinking vs. systems thinking.
To solve bigger problems (personally + professionally), we need to do more of systems thinking than linear.
What’s systems thinking?
Systems thinking is the art and science of making reliable inferences about behavior by developing an increasingly deep understanding of underlying structure.
Presenting key atomic ideas from the book The Art of Thinking in Systems by Steven Schuster.
First: What Are Systems?
A system is anything that has interacting and interconnected parts.
The human body is an example of a system. It reacts to the environment and is composed of many interdependent parts such as the brain, digestive, and circulatory systems.
What is systems thinking?
"Systems thinking is being able to examine and analyze ourselves and the things around us with the express purpose of being able to improve upon them. It requires us to be more observant and aware of the things that impact us, in both big and small ways, and then be willing to take the necessary steps to change the obstacles in our path."
The Elements of System Thinking
Systems are made up of three parts: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose.
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