Think Systemically

Systems Thinking – The New Approach for Sustainable and Profitable Businesses

This brief article provides a high-level explanation of systems thinking in business, including what 'systems thinking' means, why it is important, and how companies can begin to adopt and embed it into their strategy. This resource is a good entry point for senior leaders that want to familiarise themselves with the concept of systems thinking.

Introduction to Systems Thinking

Daniel H. Kim's comprehensive primer on systems thinking can help you to learn the language and tools you need to start applying systems thinking principles and practices in your own organisation. This resource provides a high level explanation of systems thinking, discusses the defining characteristics and behaviour of a system, explores examples of how to manage systems, and introduces common and helpful tools such as the iceberg model. This an excellent starting point for any change agent or thought leader who wants to become better acquainted with the fundamentals of systems thinking.

What is Systems Thinking?

This concise systems thinking primer by Innovation North will help you to better understand complex issues. It introduces systems thinking principles and contrasts them against those of analytical thinking. The resource may be of particular benefit to sustainability practitioners tasked with supporting manager and senior leader to better understand the concept of system thinking, as well as anyone who is thinking about interconnected sustainability challenges.

Supporting Systems Thinking in Your Company

Systems thinking is a crucial sustainability capability, but companies may face some hard-to-overcome hurdles when implementing a systems thinking approach. This blog post identifies common challenges that companies encounter, and suggestions on how to get unstuck.

First Nations Systems Thinking

This quick read from Common Ground explores how Indigenous communities within Australia have developed, used, and shared 'knowledge systems' through intergenerational thinking, being, and knowing. It will help you to better understand the interdependence between communities and natural systems, including how communities can positively influence the systems in which they're embedded.

Feedback loops: How nature gets its rhythms

This short video from TedEd can help you to understand how feedback loops work and how your business operates within larger systems of nature. It explains what positive and negative feedback loops look like, how they work together, and their relationship to the resilience of our natural world. The video will be useful as a quick introduction for decision-makers across your organisation.

Life Cycle Thinking

This guide explains how life cycle thinking and mapping help you identify and better understand the potential impacts of your products and services on people and the environment. By exploring environmental and social impacts from your raw materials, through manufacturing and distribution, to customer use, and end of life, you can identify hot spots and leverage points to take action on.

Case Study: StemCell Technologies uses lifecycle conceptual mapping

Tools for Systems Thinkers: Getting into Systems Dynamics… and Bathtubs

In order to make systems thinking applicable in the real world, one must learn to clearly identify the scope of the system they want to assess and define the elements therein. To that end, this short article from Leyla Acaroglu uses simple and approachable language to explain system boundaries and stocks & flows. This resource is excellent pre-reading for anyone looking to introduce fundamental systems thinking tools into their work.

Integrated Decision-Making Framework

Often, direct financial impacts are prioritised in decision-making, while other impacts, such as those related to nature and society, are not considered to the same extent, despite being equally real and tangible. The Integrated Decision-Making Framework provides a roadmap for considering and navigating the landscape of our planet's intersecting natural, social, human, and produced capital, and for embedding the values of these four capitals into all decision-making.

The Integrated Decision-Making Framework provides a practical approach for an integrated capitals assessment with a clear governance structure. It features detailed technical guidance for practitioners, and is aimed to support them in preparing capitals information for decision-making. Currently, the Framework is comprised of three key resources: the Capitals Protocol, Governance for Valuation, and A Primer on Integrated Decision-Making. To help you value four capitals systemically into decisions, the Capitals Protocol provides seven iterative steps for integrated decision-making. These steps form the backbone of an integrated capitals assessment, and are organised in three stages: Assemble, Assess, and Act. Governance for Valuation increases transparency and consistency in valuation, building on four blocks to drive confidence in decision-making: transparency requirements, confidence criteria, value notes, and attribution scopes. Additionally, the Primer on Integrated Decision-Making offers a high-level introduction to the purpose, structure, and available technical guidance that the Integrated Decision-Making Framework provides.