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Thinking in Systems

A Primer

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Thinking in Systems

Written by: Donella H. Meadows
Narrated by: Tia Rider Sorensen
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Summary

In the years following her role as the lead author of the international best seller, Limits to Growth - the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet - Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001.

Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing listeners how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life.

Some of the biggest problems facing the world - war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation - are essentially system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others, because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking.

While listeners will learn the conceptual tools and methods of systems thinking, the heart of the book is grander than methodology. Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds listeners to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner.

In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps listeners avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2008 Sustainability Institute (P)2018 Chelsea Green Publishing
Entrepreneurship Management & Leadership Marketing & Sales Physics Science Small Business & Entrepreneurship Workplace & Organizational Behaviour Business Inspiring Management Mathematics Sustainability Marketing Capitalism Business Systems Systems Engineering
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A very interesting lens to add to your toolbox, putting things into a system lens has been very clarifying for our company. The author presents the concepts in a way that is very understandable! Don't be scared by the complex diagrams once you've sat with Donella Meadows' explanation for a while they become useful learning aids. I suggest working through this with at least one other person and applying systems thinking to systems that are not in the book to help grasp the concepts.

Useful

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I tend to try and control different aspects of my environment. This book helped me understand why I struggle so much doing so. I already developed the intuition that I have to (sometimes) let go and/or approach the situation from another angle. This book made me realize different mistakes I've made in the past.

Very enlightening

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From business to social interactions to the climate crisis, everything we can think about can benefit from these insights. Brilliant!

The concepts can be applied to any field

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This is definitely a book to go back to again and again. Well written to make systems thinking easily comprehensible.

Amazing

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Mind altering approaches, easy to understand. Should be in school curriculums if we want a forward thinking society of achievers.

Must read!

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