Seeing the Forest for the Trees: A Manager's Guide to Applying Systems Thinking

Abstract

Systems thinking can help you tame the complexity of real-world problems by providing a structured way of balancing a broad, overall view with the selection of the right level of detail, truly allowing you to see the forest for the trees. Only by taking a broad view can we avoid the twin dangers of a silo mentality-in which a fix 'here' simply shifts the problem to 'there'-and organisational myopia-in which a fix 'now' gives rise to a much bigger problem to fix 'then'. Seeing the Forest for the Trees will give you all the tools and techniques you need, with many practical examples as diverse as managing a busy back office, negotiating an outsourcing deal and formulating business strategy.

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