A system is not just the sum of its parts, but the product of their interactions. So, the best parts do not necessarily make the best system. Rather, the ability of a system to achieve it’s purpose depends on how the parts manage to work together, not just how they perform individually. If you apply it to people or teams, the model is a clear exponent of the value of collaborative action and coordination.
Systems thinking looks at organisations as systems and analyses how the parts interrelate and how the organisation as a whole performs overtime. A good example to describe this is Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France victories between 1999 and 2003, where he won each year, but never won more than a few of the daily stages (below see daily stages won each year out of total stages).
1999: 4/21; 2000: 1/21; 2001: 4/21; 2002: 4/21; 2003: 1/21
More on systems thinking from systems dynamics guru Jay Forrester. Also read more on Theory of Constraints, Limits to Growth, Shifting the Burden, Five Whys
Tags: Five Whys, Jay Forrester, Lance Armstrong, Limits to Growth, Shifting the Burden, systems dynamics, Systems thinking, Theory of Constratints, Tour de France
